


Wish You Could Learn To Let Go

by Reader010



Series: A Past that Doesn't Want To Leave [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Obsession, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 08:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2461100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader010/pseuds/Reader010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Obsession.</p><p>We all have it. Even if you don't know it. It's deep inside us. Waiting. </p><p>And some of us may unknowingly risk everything for it.</p><p>Even lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here you go. A sequel.
> 
> Highly recommended you read A Messy Night first!

Yang walked around another corner. She hurt everywhere but she didn't have time to treat her wounds. Yang checked Ember Celica. Fully loaded. Good.

Yang pressed her hand to the wall, turning another corner. Nothing. Where was he hiding? Yang glanced behind her. nobody was there.

She heard a deep laugh down the hall, to her right. Yang sprinted toward it.

She turned the corner, sure that she would see him. Yang paused as she turned. The hallway had finally led her to a room.

A empty room.

_Where the- Aww shit._

Yang turned on her feet, and there she saw him.

Adam Taurus.

Blake's ex-partner. The one who was hunting her. The one who held her captive right now.

Yang's eyes turned red in an instant. She burst into hot intense flames. Yang saw Adam smirk.

Yang attacked first. She pounded at him with her right gauntlet.

He disappeared into the shadows. Yang mentally cursed. She knew that was gonna happen.

She pivoted on her feet slowly, keeping Ember Celica up as guard. He could quite literally be anywhere.

Yang took a deep breath. A moment later she heard movement behind her.

Yang whipped around with amazing speed. She lunged at Adam with her left gauntlet.

Adam back flipped back, landing perfectly balanced.

 _Showoff._ Yang thought. She prepared for his next strike.

Adam's sword shot out of his sheath, Blush, and Yang reacted quickly. She punched the sword back at Adam, just as Adam wanted.

Adam grabbed Wilt in midair, bringing it down as he lunged.

Yang jumped back and saw Adam open. Yang shot her gauntlet downwards. It should've been enough force to punch his face into the floor.

 **Should've.** When Ember Celica reached where he had been there was nothing there, only wisps of shadow that quickly disappeared.

Yang turned around. Nothing. She bit her lip. This could be hard.

She turned around again, in a circle.

She felt a cold blade across her neck. She reacted in a instant.

Yang elbowed Adam in the hand, forcing him to recoil in fear of dropping his sword. As he jumped back Yang planted her right foot on his left as she turned. She shot Ember Celica's right gauntlet, punching across Adam's ribcage.

Adam drew Blush and shot it at waist level. The bullet clinked as it hit Yang's other gauntlet. Adam slashed down at Yang, aiming at her shoulder.

Yang was forced to flip backwards. As soon as she was right side up she looked for her opponent.

Gone. Again.

 _Great, I can't keep this up for long._ Yang thought. She heard a scream outside the room.

 _Blake._ The name clouded all of Yang's logic, leaving her scared at the thought of anyone hurting her. She rushed out the room.

Another scream was sounded, and Yang felt another wave of all too real urgency. She had to save Blake.

Yang turned another hallway, then another. Finally she saw her.

Blake lie on the floor of the room at the end of the hallway. She was beaten and battered. Bloody, but still alive.

Yang hoped to keep it that way.

She ran toward Blake, all thoughts of her own safety lost. Just feet away from the door she was forced to come to a stop. The tip of a crimson colored sword was pointed directly at her chest. Out from behind the doorway stepped Adam.

Adam smiled. Yang felt Blake's most common saying run through her head. _He always smiles when he thinks he has won._

Yang jumped back but as she did so Adam stepped forward, keeping the tip on her at all times.

Yang punched at the sword, desperate for anything. Fortunately the sword was pushed away to the left, giving Yang a chance to get on offense.

_Left punch, right punch, kick, dodge, right, left, dodge, left, right, uppercut-_

Just as Yang was about to finish it he slipped into the shadows.

"Damn!" Yang yelled. She looked around for him.

Adam stood over Blake.

"NO!" Yang cried out as Adam wordlessly stabbed Blake. Blood pooled around her. It was everywhere.

Yang ran to Blake. She could save her. She would stabilize her and they would live happily ever after... Tears ran down Yang's cheeks.

Too late she realized Adam was gone again.

And all too soon she felt the blade run through her chest from the back. The blade was visible in her front to.

Yang feel to the floor.

She was sure she had imagined it. No, she was positive, but she thought she heard Adam say his first line of the day.

"That's the last time you cross me, Yang Xiao Long."

Yang eyes fluttered closed.

*****

_"Simulation Complete."_

Yang's eyes shot open as the floor and walls around her dissolved, even the blade stuck inside her disappeared. The simulated Blake and Adam were the next to disappear, and Yang couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

_Another failure._

_Why can't I get this right?!_

Yang stood up and rubbed her chest. While the sword may have been fake, it left all too real of pain.

Yang sighed and pushed herself into sitting position.

It was her second year of Beacon. The summer had passed very quickly. Team RWBY had met up a few times over the summer, and Ruby had spent most of its entire with Weiss. Yang wished her relationship with Blake had been that simple.

After Adam had showed up at the end of last year Blake had become obsessed. _It was like the school dance all over again._ Yang always said, but this was different. If she had been obsessed with that, she was a maniac over this.

Yang was sure Blake hadn't been sleeping well. That is, if she was sleeping at all. Blake spent every moment of her summer searching for details, leads, anything on Adam Taurus. The few dates Yang had convinced Blake to go on ended up with Blake telling her any new info.

Yang had originally thought that getting into a relationship with Blake would be the hard part.

Nope.

It felt like she wasn't even in a relationship with Blake. The only thing keeping her convinced was the occasional kiss.

Yang sighed. What more could she ask for?

"Failure. Do you want me to run the simulation again?" The voice of the machine snapped Yang back to reality.

"No thanks... What was the success rate?" Yang asked.

"Your success rate was 13.47%, would you like to run the test again?"

"Negative." Yang sighed.

Over the summer Beacon had designed a simulation room, capable of running any scenario accurately. Which explained why Yang had so far spent the entire term in the room.

Every day Yang had tried again. Every day Yang failed the same exact scenario.

Yang was really starting to wish she hadn't uploaded all the data about Adam into the system. It was sorta controlling her life.

What else was she supposed to do? Blake was so prepared that it only made sense that Yang had to do the same.

Any day now Adam could be found.

They had to make sure they were ready.

Yang's stomach growled, reminding her of her hunger.

Yang sighed. "Time for dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

The double doors shut behind Yang as she let them drift from her fingers. Yang scanned the cafeteria and with her team with Team Juniper.

About three minutes later Yang plopped her tray down between Blake and Ruby.

"Hevy slisse!" Ruby fluid behind a full mouth of what Yang assumed was cookies.

Weiss glared at her girlfriend. "How many times have I told you not to speak with your mouth full?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and gulped down her food. "Hey sis!"

Yang smiled. "Hey Rubes," Yang turned to face her girlfriend. "Hey beautiful."

Blake didn't look up from her scroll. "Hey." Yang felt disappointed at the lack of emotion, but she didn't let any one catch on.

Yang's eyes caught sight of Blake's untouched tray. "Nice to see you came to dinner tonight."

Blake waved her off. "Yeah... you too..."

"We found her in the library," Weiss cut in. "Your sister and I forced her to come."

Yang felt another wave of disappointment hit her. "Thanks..." She mumbled as she brought some of her food to her mouth.

Yang flinched as some of Nora's food hit her cheek. She glared at Nora. _Not in the mood._  

Nora got the message. Jaune cleared his throat.

"Where were you Yang? -I mean before you know dinner, none of us saw you..." Jaune awkwardly stuttered out.

"Training."

"Again? Jeez, you're becoming just bad as Blake," Nora pointed out as she waved her fork around.

"Nora," Ren whispered. "I wouldn't insult her girlfriend if I were you."

Nora gaped. "They're dating!?"

Ren face palmed. "I really hate you sometimes."

Pyrrha joined in. "Nora, they've been dating for like flour months."

Nora gasped. "But they. Just. Broke. Up!"

Ren threw his hands into the air. "What?"

Yang shook her head at Nora's cluelessness. Yang turned her attention back to her girlfriend. Blake eyes were dashing across the screen of her scroll. Yang nudged her.

"Hey Blake, I was thinking we should go on a date soon. Since, you know-"

"Sorry Yang," Blake said. "I'm busy."

Yang felt her heart cry out. "Oh yeah... I get it..."

Blake stood up. "I have to go. I think I'm getting close."

That got Yang's attention. "Close to what?"

Blake corrected Yang as she she checked her scroll. "Close to who." 

"I think I found him."

"Okay Blake." Yang said but Blake was already heading away. "-See ya."

Yang sighed and began to listen into Team Juniper's drama, but all she caught was cried during sex.

 _What the heck are those guys talking about?_ Yang thought before feeling someone nudge her. Yang saw that it was Ruby.

"I hate to admit it," Ruby whispered. "but Nora's right. With all the additional training you're doing, you've become just as secluded as Blake."

Finally Yang lost it. She had been so worried about Blake that the last thing she needed was someone adding to them.

"Well what am I supposed to do!?" Yang snapped and Ruby recoiled. The cafeteria went silent.

"When Blake finally does find him, I need to be ready! If I'm not, I'm sure my _girlfriend_ has no problem leaving me behind! Or worse, what if she gets hurt, or killed! So yeah, I am so sorry Ruby if I'm a little bit secluded right now."

Yang grabbed her tray and stormed out of the cafeteria. She tried hard to ignore the utter silence of the room.

As soon as Yang was outside she felt a tear run down her cheek. Quickly she rubbed it away.

 _I wish you could to let go..._ Yang thought, wiping another tear away.

_Before you lose sight of what really matters._


	3. Chapter 3

"I really messed that up didn't I?" Ruby asked, turning to her girlfriend.

Weiss kept her head buried in her palms. "Uh- huh."

The entire cafeteria had transferred back into a talkative buzz in seconds. Team Juniper and the remainder of Team Ruby remained silent though.

"I guess I need to go do something to fix it?" Ruby asked.

"Yep." Weiss started getting out of her seat. She grabbed her tray. "I'll get Blake,"

Ruby sighed. "I'll get my sister."

"Alright," Weiss and Ruby headed for the doors. "Let's do this."

*****

"UGHH!" Yang stamped her foot in frustration.

"Failure, would you like me to-"

"No." Yang rubbed her bloodshot eyes. Tears fell to the ground. She looked down, where yet another dead, simulated Blake had laid only seconds ago.

 _Yet it was all too real._ Yang buried her face into her arm.

"Having trouble?"

Yang's head shot up, and she barely had enough time to bite back a harsh insult. "Pro- Professor Ozpin? What- What are you doing here?"

He took a sip out of his mug of what Yang assumed was coffee. "Well, I do pride myself with working here,"

"I know- I mean- It's just that-" Yang tried to sputter out her explanation.

"Calm down', It's quite alright." Ozpin walked toward Yang. "I'm here because of you Yang."

"Me?"

"Yes you," The professor took another sip. "You've been spending a lot of time here lately-"

"Sir, It's just that I need to-" Yang began talking but was cut off again.

"Yang," He said with a strong sense of sincerity in his voice. "I'm sure I agree with whatever your reason is."

"You- You do?" Yang asked, confused.

"Yes, I mean you are here to better your skills as a huntress." Yang looked like she was about to say something but Ozpin continued. "It's just that your sister, Weiss, and your friends from Team JNPR all expressed a certain measure of concern."

"I know sir..." Yang spoke quietly.

"I've noticed they've also been spending the same amount of concern about Blake,"

"The- They have?" Yang choked.

"Of course they have," Ozpin said as he prepared to leave. He stopped midway out. "And Yang?"

"Yes Professor Ozpin?"

"I recently received a package with no return address on it. Inside the package was some rather important missing... property." Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Do you seem to know anything about that?"

Yang rubbed her neck. "No sir,"

Ozpin shrugged. "Oh well..." Just as he pushed the door to the outside he stopped. "Just goes to show that if you want something, it might just come to you."

And with that, he left.

*****

Weiss turned another corner around the bookshelves. _Where was that girl?_

Weiss was back in the library, looking for Blake in the maze of books.

Another corner. _Nothing. Ughh... I swear, when I find her..._ Weiss shook her head in anger. She passed the history section. _Maybe Blake was doing research on the computers?_

Weiss made her way to the computers... which were empty. _That's it. I'm leaving._ Weiss started heading out when she noticed a pile of literature on an empty table.

"Blake?" _No answer._ Weiss looked at the stack of newspapers.

The top one showed a picture of the bar the group had went to last year. Weiss quickly scanned the article.

 

> _**VALE HEADLINES** _
> 
> _Two huntresses are attacked by White Fang Member_ _... ...the attack started up on top of a rooftop in Vale_ _... ...a sniper shot was heard... ...attacker mysteriously_ _disappeared... ...victims were Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna..._

Weiss picked up another newspaper.

 

> **_VALE DAILY_ **
> 
> _A group of White Fang were stopped when they tried to break into Beacon... ...when questioned said their patrol was composed of five people... ...police only found four... ...one member says "He disappeared as soon as we were caught, as if he melted away into shadows"..._

Weiss looked at more newspapers. All of them had something to do with the White Fang, with the earliest dating back to the end of last school year. Next Weiss found a book. **Shadow Semblances; The Myths and Realities. ** Blake had an entire collection of info here, but there was one thing missing.

Where was Blake?

Weiss scanned the table again. Blake's scroll.

Weiss grabbed it. She opened up the scroll. A text had been left open. Weiss read it.

_**JUNIOR** _

> _Meet me at the bar in one. I have your info._

Weiss pocketed the scroll and began walking to the door. She had to find Ruby...

Weiss bumped into a librarian as she walked.

"Oh- sorry," Weiss said. "Hey- did you see a black haired girl with a bow in here?"

The librarian nodded. "She left about thirty minutes ago..."

"Thanks-" Weiss said before she ran for the door.  _THIRTY_ _MINUTES?!_ She exited the library.

Weiss headed to the nearest airship. She dialed Ruby on her scroll.

"We have a problem."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 30 minutes on the clock. One worried girlfriend, on sleep deprived teammate, and a questionable source of information...
> 
> What's the worst that could happen?

"She WHAT?!" Ruby screamed into the scroll. Ruby's fingers laced through her hair. This was bad, very bad.

Weiss's voice was heard through the scroll. "The librarian said she left thirty minutes ago. Apparently in thirty more minutes the two are going to meet for an exchange of information." Weiss sighed long and hard. "Ruby, I need you to find Yang and hop onto the next airship you find. Get to Vale."

Ruby inhaled. "Alright, got it, no pressure..."

Weiss's voice was filled with concern. "Yang is not going to be happy..."

Ruby agreed. "Okay, I got to go,"

"Love you,"

"Love you too Weiss." Ruby spoke before the call was ended. Ruby sighed. Time to find Yang...

*****

Weiss closed her scroll. The airship had long since lifted off. Ten more minutes till she arrived in Vale.

 _Blake you idiot..._ Weiss thought. _I didn't think she would do something as stupid as this._

_I just hope she's okay._

*****

Blake Belladonna walked through the streets of Vale alone. The weight of Gambol Shroud weighed heavily on her back. She knew she was only barely awake.

Blake stifled a yawn as she passed through the crowd. She shook her head. _Wake up! This is your chance to find him._ Blake focused on finding her way to Junior's bar.

She wasn't stupid. Blake knew that she shouldn't trust Junior. However, he was her only lead. Blake knew Junior had worked closely to the White Fang before. Closer than he'd like anyone to know.

Blake couldn't bring her teammates as backup. Not even Yang. They'd say how stupid her idea was and make sure she didn't attempt it. It was just that Blake couldn't shake that feeling...

For some reason she couldn't stop thinking that if Adam was going to strike again, it was going to be soon.

Blake just hoped she wasn't playing into his first move.

*****

_Left right left uppercut. Right left right dodge. Left right left upper-_

Yang was hit backwards, she went flying across the simulated rooftop. As she pushed herself on to her feet she saw the smirk on Adam's face.

"AGHH!" Yang ran at him, semblance active once more.

 _Right left uppercut! Dodge left kick! Right left kick left dodge uppercut!_ Yang watched as she finally perfected the combo, and she couldn't help but feel pride.

Yang was about to continue advancing forward when she saw that Adam wasn't on the ground. Replacing him was Blake, bruised, bloody, and dying.

Yang felt herself break. _NO! NOO!_

Her knees weakened and she hit the ground, tears falling.

A sword piercing her chest.

Another failure.

*****

"Yang?" Ruby called out quietly, watching as the simulation was broken apart, showing Yang in the middle of a room.

"Success rate at 15.42%, would you like me to run the test again?"

"Yes." Yang repeated standing up.

Ruby spoke up. "Yang."

Yang was quiet for a moment. Ruby heard her sniffle and saw her wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

"Yea-ah Ruby?" Yang cried out, voice cracking.

Ruby took another deep breath. "It's Blake."

"She's in trouble."

*****

 Weiss stepped off the airship and sprinted for the street. She raised her hand to call a cab. As it pulled up she jumped in.

"Take me to Junior's bar." Weiss said. The driver nodded. Weiss pulled out her scroll. She had seventeen more minutes.

"Step on it."

*****

Yang was quiet as Ruby told her what was happening. She said nothing and didn't move an inch.

"Yang?" Ruby asked her sister quietly. She didn't reply.

Slowly Yang turned around. Her eyes were sealed tight. As they opened red orbs radiated anger outward. Finally Yang spoke. "Come,"

"We're leaving."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

If Ruby was ever to be scared of her sister, it was now.

Yang sat across the airship not making a sound. Her eyes burned a deep, dark, violent red, so red, in fact, that Ruby swore this was the reddest she had ever seen them. Yang wasn't paying any mind to her baby sister, but that only made her scarier.

Ruby flinched as Ember Celica was loaded and felt a shiver sent down her spine. _I feel bad for whoever has to face that._

Ruby continued to fidget as she checked her scroll. No new messages.

_I hope Weiss has caught up to her by now._

*****

Blake looked up at sign building in front of her.  _This is it._ Blake quickly  scanned the crowd gathered in front of the building. No White Fang. _Keep your eyes open Blake. He is your enemy.You can't trust the enemy._

Blake put her head down as she entered the building, slipping in through an open side door. She walked down the hallway it led into.

It took Blake a moment to recognize this was one of the hallways she had went through  almost half a year ago.

Blake was finally led to the room she was looking for. _  
_

_Junior's private suite._

*****

"Can't this taxi go any faster?" Weiss asked anxiously.

The man shook his head. "Just where do you have to go in such a hurry?"

Weiss instantly answered him. "To stop my friend from getting herself killed by a murderous organization." Weiss smiled as the driver whipped his head back to look at her. "Now I would really appreciate if you sped up."

Needless to say, the taxi went faster after that.

*****

Yang was off the airship as soon as it touched the ground. Ruby struggled to keep up with her.

"So what's the plan?" Ruby said while she jogged to her sister.

Yang didn't answer her as she scanned the street. Then, without warning, she began to run across the street.

"Yang!" Ruby said as she stumbled after her.

"A taxi will be too slow." Yang said aloud. "We need something fast... I knew I shouldn't have left Bumblebee at Beacon..."

"Like what?" Ruby asked. The corners of Yang's mouth curled slightly as she looked over her shoulders, back to the helipads.

Directly at a airship. Yang began walking to it.

"No absolutely not." Ruby said. Yang ignored her. "Yang!"

 *****

Junior heard the door knock. He smiled.

_She came..._

Junior's eyes followed Miltia as she walked to the door to open it.

_She's stupider than I thought._

Junior chuckled to himself before the door was opened, revealing Blake Belladonna.

Alone.

Just as he was hoping.

*****

"Hey lady, you aren't allowed-" The security guard spoke as Yang passed by her.

"Don't worry, official hunter business." Yang said without a worry. "I need to borrow your airship."

"I'm sorry ma'am but-" The guard said awkwardly as he noticed Yang's gauntlets.

"It's fine, really." Yang reassured him as she stepped onto the plane.

"But-" The guard tried to speak again but was cut off by a teenage girl.

"Yang! Don't be stupid you don't even know how to-" Ruby tried to reason with her sister but then the airship started up. "-start it... Yang- wait up for me!"

The guard felt his eye twitch as the other girl boarded the plane and close the door. "Stop! I'm authorize- authorized to use force!"

Inside the ship Ruby ran over to the front of the airship. "Yang what are you doing!"

Yang continued to ignore her. "Do you know how to fly this thing?"

"What?!"

"I think it's this-" Yang said as she flipped a switch and pressed a lever forward. Sure enough, the plane began to go forward.

"Yang- think before you do anything stupid!" Ruby yelled. Suddenly the ship felt like it moved and Ruby felt her knees almost give out from under her.

Yang smiled as she picked up the pilot's microphone.

"Passengers, we have lift off." Yang spoke and then hung up the mic.

"That's not funny Yang."

*****

The guard watched  as the airship he was guarding lifted off. He shook his head.

"I'm getting too old for this shit."

*****

As soon as Junior's door was opened Blake scanned the room.

The far side wall was completely made of glass, it was as if the entire wall was a window. Beyond it was a empty rooftop in jumping distance. Blake noted that as a good escape point off things got ugly.

Blake then checked inside the room. Three people.

"I thought we were to meet alone." Blake said as she glared at Junior.

Junior gave what he must've thought was a winning smile. "Plans change- I'm sure you understand..."

In a flash Blake had Gambol Shroud out. "I want them gone. Now."

Junior lost his smile. "Of course. Miltia, Melanie, you may leave me and my..." Junior's eyes flicked over Blake. "...guest alone."

The one in the red dress nodded and the two sisters walked out the door.

 _*click*_ Blake whipped her head around to check out the noise.

The door was closed.

Blake looked at her informer.

"Where is he."

*****

Weiss jumped out of the cab before it was stopped. She only stopped to throw a wad of lien to the guy.

As Weiss walked onto the main walkway she realized she had got off at the wrong street. She was nearly a block away.

Cursing silently under her breath, Weiss began to jog.

*****

Ruby was beginning to feel glad that her sister had 'borrowed' a airship. -Not that she was getting a sick rush of adrenaline from it but that her sister seemed normal now. More normal, less I'll murder you if you get in my way.

So yeah, pretty good.

You see, Yang had to be really focused to drive this thing, so focused that she had slipped back into her regular self.

...Except her regular self was never this worried.

"Ruby, do you think she'll be okay?" Yang asked quietly. Ruby sighed.

"Yes Yang. Blake will fine, I'm sure of it." Ruby shook her head. Then she examined we sister. "But I'm more worried about you."

Yang looked quizzically at Ruby. "Why?"

Ruby sighed. Well, she was going to have to bring this up sooner or later... "Yang it's just.. you really are getting obsessed." Ruby felt a spike in the room temperature. "Yang, Blake is a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself. But Yang... it isn't going to help anyone if you keep spending every waking moment training. You putting too much stress on yourself. I can help."

"Your team can help."

Yang didn't reply right away. About a minute later she blinked and shook her head. Ruby saw her sisters eyes in reflection of the windowsill. 

They were... different. There was no anger in them. They seemed to be filled with sadness, regret, hope, love... all of Yang's emotions about this subject.

"I just want to be ready. I need to be ready." Yang whispered back.

Ruby began to walk to the back of the airship. Silently, she whispered in a tiny voice her own desperate plea.

"I just want you let go."

*****

Miltia and Melanie were silent behind the door. The exchanged a series of whispered to plan out what they wanted to do.

Finally they were able to agree. Melanie was to guard the door. Miltia was to alert... him.

Without another word Miltia headed down the hallway. Finally she reached the right room.

While technically it was just a regular guest room. Today it was very special, as someone very important was in there right now.

At this very moment.

And it was Miltia's job to get him.

Without knocking Miltia unlocked the door and slipped into the room.

After she flipped the light switch on she was pinned to the wall with a sword pinned to her throat. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Adam, it's only me." Miltia whispered. The owner of the sword kept the sword against her throat for a moment. Then, as Adam recognized she was telling the truth, he withdrew his sword.

Miltia attacked Adam, as he sheathed his blade, pinning him to the wall. Before he could react, Miltia was leading him into a kiss.

Adam fought the instinct to attack back. It was only Miltia. Only Miltia. Miltia pulled Adam closer.

After a few minutes Adam peeled the two of them apart, but Miltia struggled against him. Adam shook his head and decided to pull Miltia into a hug.

"I missed you." Miltia whispered, blinking away the tears.

"I know," Adam said. "I had to go."

"I know," Miltia replied. "Buisness."

Adam shook his head. "Both of us are in some pretty deep crap. Don't blame me for having to clean up their mess."

Miltia rested her head on Adam's shoulder. "I don't, I just wish you didn't have to."

Adam held Miltia tighter. Then he cleared his throat. "Is it time? She's here?"

"Yes." Miltia. Tear stained her eyes. "Let's end this."

Adam looked down at his lover. "No matter what happens, I love you."

Miltia blinked away her tears. "I know. And I love you two." Miltia stared back at Adam with strong, resilient eyes. "Now let's finish this."

*****

"Where is he." Blake demanded. Junior smiled.

"Relax, kitty cat, we both have plenty of time." Junior smiled as Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh don't be surprised, you've done a terrible job hiding it."

"Where. Is. He?"

"Relax dear, would you like something to drink? Some milk maybe? How about some tuna fish with that?" Junior teased.

Before he knew it, Blake had him pinned to the wall. "Tell me. Now."

Junior laughed. "Feisty one aren't you? Must be your Faunus nature. Your girlfriend is very lucky."

Blake faltered. "How do you know about me and Yang?"

Junior continued to tease. "Yang and me, sweetie, grammar is very important."

"Answer the question."

"I have some inside resources." Junior stated.

"You've been talking to Adam?" Blake questioned.

"Young lady, I never said anything about talking to him."

"Where is he?"

*****

"Hey Ruby?" Yang called from the pilot's quarters. "You may wanna get up here..."

"What's wrong Yang?" Ruby started walking to the front. She saw Yang pointing. "What is it?"

"Airships." Yang said. "Right outside the bar."

Ruby cursed to herself. "Land the airship. Blake's going to need help."

"Got it..." Yang replied unsurely.

"You do know how to land this thing right?"

"Yeah land. That just means stop flying, right?"

"Crap... Wait, is that Weiss?" Ruby asked, pointing at a girl running into the bar dressed in a white combat skirt.

*****

"Where is he?" Blake asked again. She was so caught up in her anger he didn't hear the scuffling outside the room, on the other side of the door.

Junior smirked. "A lot closer than you think."

Then, an explosion went off. As the door blew open, the force of the explosion threw Blake through the window, smashing it.

She activated her aura just as she hit the rooftop.

As she opened her eyes a searing pain burned through her side. She couldn't get up. She tried to push herself onto her feet but fell down. Slowly, the rooftop around her filled with members of the White Fang.

It was a double crossing. As expected.

 _Alright Blake._ Blake felt a smirk cross her lips.

_Time to show them what you can do._

*****

Weiss madly dashed through the bar. It was completely deserted. Junior probably made sure of that before the attack. Weiss quickly ran around the bar, searching for signs of Blake.

Finally she reached a hall with someone in it. A girl in a white dress. Not a combat skirt. Definitely a dress.

Weiss knew she was an enemy. Yang had told her and the others all about 'that one time when she may have accidently blown up a bar.'  According to her story, this was Melanie Malachite. Huh. Guess listening to Yang actually was useful.

Weiss waited till she had a clear shot, then, as Melanie looked away, checking the other side of the hall, Weiss summoned a glyph, shooting herself at the unsuspecting victim.

Quickly she swung twice. Myrtenaster cut through the girl's flesh both times. Startled, the girl turned to attack back.

Weiss wasn't expecting her heels to be her weapon of choice. She only had moments to dodge the blades on her shoes. Weiss lunged back, and her rapier cut across the girl's face.

"Ahh!" Melanie fell to the ground and clenched the cut that formed on her right cheek. Blood began to spurt out. Before Weiss could decide whether or not to finish the job, she heard a scream of agony.

 _Blake._ Weiss realized her teammate was in danger. Pity victories like killing this one were nothing compared to saving her teammate. Weiss ran into the open hotel room.

Weiss noticed that the door lay blown off it's hinges halfway across the room. The part of the room closest to where the entrance had originally been was in shambles. However, no one was in the room.

Weiss slowly walked over to the broken window. Beyond it, at the next rooftop, was her teammate.

Surrounded by White Fang.

Weiss sighed and backed up. Then with a running start, she jumped the gap between the two buildings. She transferred into a roll to break her fall.

Weiss landed next to Blake, who was struggling to get up.

Blake's eyes opened in surprise. "Weiss?"

"Shut up." Weiss said. "I thought you were done with this lone wolf bullshit."

Blake flinched at her teammate's anger. Blake watched as the White Fang surrounded the two of them, now recovered from the surprise of a second huntress jumping in.

"Talk later, okay?"

"Agreed." Weiss said. "On my mark."

"Got it." Blake counted the seconds in her head.

 _One second._ The Faunus attackers slowly got closer, tensing, waiting for the two of them to strike.

 _Two seconds._ Blake's arm crawled slowly to where Gambol Shroud rested. 

_Three seconds._

_"Mark."_

*****

Adam left the room with Miltia at his side. He had a single goal in his mind. One target.

Adam and Miltia walked slowly. There wasn't any need to hurry. I mean- how much damage can a sleep deprived teenage huntress-in-training do?

*****

Blake somehow managed to get to her feet as Weiss spoke the word, signaling it was time to attack.

Weiss shot up and flipped in the air over the ring of Faunus, leaving them open to attacks from behind. The Faunus members stumbled into each other, trying to avoid being hit.

Blake stood up and ripped Gambol Shroud off her back. Unsheathing it, she held her katana in her right hand and her sheath in her left. Quickly she charged into the nervous Faunus soldiers.

She hacked through the poorly trained Faunus with ease. She felt no regret. It wasn't anything she enjoyed but, it had to be done. Besides, they were the ones who chose to live like this.

The fighting continued for minutes on end. Slowly, Blake and Weiss were pushed back into the middle of the rooftop.

They may have been weak, but there was a lot of them.

Not long after the two of them were pushed back to back. Blake was unloading rounds of her pistol into the crowd, and Weiss picked off any strays that got too close. Whenever they fell though, more just filled in the gap.

"We need back up!" Blake yelled.

Weiss shook her head at the irony behind her saying that. "Come on Ruby... Where are you?" She whispered.

*****

"So you are sure that's how you land this thing?" Ruby asked her sister, motioning to the big yellow button.

"It's either we press that or we hit eject." Yang answered back. "Now press it, the fighting's started!"

"Here goes nothing." Ruby smashed the button with her palm.

Suddenly they started plummeting down to the rooftop. Yang quickly started trying to pull up. No use.

"Well, Ruby, this is gonna hurt. Brace for impact!" Yang said. Something heavy landed in her lap. A parachute.

"Ready?" Ruby asked, her parachute already on.

"You are literally the best sister ever." Yang said, running over to the door as she strapped the parachute on.

"I know." Ruby said, opening the door. "Jump!"

*****

Weiss saw a lot of White Fang. All of them were certainly trying to kill them.

Weiss began to think. _It's times like these when I wonder, why the fuck didn't I just go into stocks?_

Suddenly she headed something behind her. A giant airship was flying right at the rooftop.

"Ruby!" Weiss called as she saw her girlfriend parachuting behind the plane. Oh, and Yang. Yeah. 

Wait... "Ruby... Who's piloting the airship?" Weiss growled.

"Sorry Weiss!!!" Ruby yelled as the airship sailed closer to Weiss.

"Aww crud." Weiss said before she grabbed Blake pointed. Slowly, the two easily fought their way to the end of the building. The White Fang members were too busy freaking out to stop the two of them. Just as the airship was about to hit the building, Weiss grabbed Blake and jumped.

*****

Adam and Miltia turned the last corner to Junior's room, revealing Melanie on the ground. Blood was everywhere.

"Melanie!" Adam watched his lover run to her sister. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah- just a cut..." Melanie whimpered as Miltia helped her sit upright. As Miltia peered her hands away, a large cut was revealed across her face.

Miltia clenched her fists. "That BITCH! I'll be right back Melanie." She started walking to the fire escape.

"Miltia-" Adam rushed after her.

"We need to get in position Adam."

Adam bit his lip. Only Miltia could leave him so nervous. "...alright."

He had a bad feeling about this.

***** 

Blake was starting to get really accustomed to rooftops today. Mostly, lying face first in them. She groaned. She had not wanted to land like _that._

Weiss was a lot luckier. She got up and began to dust herself off. In her mind, she wrote a memo to murder Ruby tonight.

Weiss, in her daze slowly began to scan her surroundings.

When she glanced up across the rooftop, she saw a bazooka aimed right at Blake.

_Junior._

"No!" Weiss jumped and pushed Blake as the man pulled the trigger.

*****

Blake heard a very loud ringing in her ears. And screaming. Lots of screaming. She felt a pistol in her hand. Her sheath was missing. She probably dropped it after the fall.

Blake's eyes slowly opened. She saw Weiss to her. She was bleeding. It looked bad.

She looked around for who did this and saw a figure far away. She couldn't make out who it was, but if they were the one responsible for this, they deserved to die.

Blake lifted her arm and shot the gun. She didn't stop shooting until she saw the figure hit the ground.

"Blake!" A voice called her name. Blake didn't respond.

*****

Yang unclipped her parachute before she hit the rooftop. She hit the roof running. She had to find Blake.

She and Ruby walked over the rooftop. A huge chuck if it was missing, thanks to their ship crash.  Fortunately, they were at least able to take out all of the White Fang members.

"Where did you see her jump?" Yang asked Ruby.

"I didn't," Ruby whispered

"I thought you were keeping track of them!" Yang shouted. Her anxiety was getting to her.

"We'll, sorry! There was sorta a giant ship blocking my view! A ship that you not only crashed, but stole!" Ruby angrily yelled at her sister. She had long since passed her breaking point.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked.

"It means that I'm tired of saving you and your damned girlfriend every time she puts herself in danger!" Ruby yelled.

Yang stopped. "I thought you wanted to help people."

"I do! But what I'm doing, it isn't helping! I shouldn't be helping you chase down some crazed psycho from her past! It's pointless! We are just putting ourselves in danger- and the people closest to us!" Ruby screamed. "I don't want to have to leave any more people hurt!"

"Wow- how selfless of you Ruby!" Yang mocked. "Thanks for deciding not got help your sister when she already feels overwhelmed! I mean, it's not like I have to spend every single day training, so I can be ready for these messes that my girlfriend conjures up! Or, you know watch Blake tear herself apart! How about my mom, Ruby? Don't you think I'm a little bit still obsessive about her too? Why don't you make fun if her too-"

Yang was interrupted by an explosion. Ruby and Yang both looked at each other, than ran to the sound.

As they closed in on the edge of the rooftop, Yang saw Weiss was lying on the ground, hurt. Yang watched as Blake shot Junior, and the man fell to the ground.

The next thing Yang noticed was the person creeping along the fire escape, directly behind Blake.

"Blake!" Yang yelled, trying to warn her girlfriend. She didn't respond. Yang felt rage engulf her body. No one would hurt Blake. Yang activated Ember Celica and jumped at the attacker.

Yang landed on the fire escape, startling Miltia. Yang quickly dodged two sloppy blows from Miltia's claws.

Miltia pushed Yang closer and closer to the edge of the fire escape, as Yang dodged each of her blows. Finally, with her back pressed to the cool safety bar of the fire exit, Yang found an opening.

Yang let loose a flurry of quick punches to Miltia's stomach. Slowly she earned herself more and more space. With one final punch to the head, Yang was finished.

There was so much power beyond her punch, that Yang recoiled and at the last minute she jumped off the fire escape, landing next to her girlfriend. Miltia's head hit the brick wall and she fell to the floor of the fire escape, unconscious.

Ding, ding, knockout!

Ruby was already at Weiss's side as Yang looked at her. Ruby felt tears drip from her face as she examined Weiss. Ruby knew Weiss needed medical attention fast.

"This is all your fault." Ruby directed at Blake and Yang. There was no response.

Then, across the rooftop, Yang heard someone clear their throat.

The man kicked the unconscious/possibly dead body of Junior Xiong. As his face turned to the four of them, there was no doubt. Apparently, the Grimm mask that inspired fear was also a dead giveaway. 

It was Adam.

"So we meet again, Miss Xiao Long. How delightful." Adam spoke but his voice seemed different. Yang could sense it. She had felt the emotion more the last few months more than ever. Adam sounded... desperate.

Just like right now, Yang was also desperate. One of her teammates had just passed out in the middle of the battle. One of them was injured, and one of them was very pissed off at her. She needed something to save her team; a lifeline so to speak.

"You're not doing so hot right now, am I right Adam?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yang hoped her plan would work. "Well you see Adam, you have lost two of your best fighters." Yang motioned to Junior and Miltia. Adam looked at Miltia's lame body and flinched. "And we just took out a shitload of White Fang."

"You're point?"

"You are not in the best of situations."

"Neither are you," Adam said. "Two of you're teammates are not going to be much help as is."

"Yes, so I bet you'd like to leave. Regroup, plan a new strategy." Yang prayed to any almighty figures that this would work.

"What are you playing at?"

Yang gulped down the saliva in her throat. She choose her next words very carefully. Any misplaced word could tip Adam off just how scared Yang was right now. "I just think that if you were to leave-"

"He's not going any where."

Blake forced herself up as she continued talking. "He's going to stay right here as I rip out his damned fucking skull, then bash him to death with it."

"Blake be quiet, you're in no position to fight." Yang whispered, keeping one eye on Adam. "Plus that doesn't seem physically possible."

"I'm fine-" Blake said as she began to fall back to the ground. Yang quickly caught her.

"Easy Blakey, let me handle this okay?" Yang whispered.

Then when she made sure Blake was okay, she looked back at Adam.

He was gone.

Yang turned around.

And so was Miltia.


	7. Chapter 7

"Step aside! Please- move out of the way! Patient needs medical attention stat!" The nurse yelled as she rolled the bed down the hallway. Three girls followed her, one struggling to keep up.

Weiss lie in the bed, and Yang couldn't lie, it didn't look good. If she had to describe... she just couldn't. It was too much.

So much had happened in the last hour. It was like she finally crossed- no- shoved over some sort of line... and here she was. Blake leaving was the final push, and Yang started to wonder. What has her girlfriend really put into motion?

In the last sixty minutes, Yang had stolen an airship, almost watched her girlfriend die, damaged a lot of property, probably was gonna have to answer a ton of questions when she got back to Beacon, hijacked a taxi, found her teammate in a horrible state, pissed her sister off immensely, and let the mass psycho murder who wants to kill Blake get away.

_Way to fucking go Yang. Clap clap._

Yang looked at her sister from the corner of her eyes. Ruby hadn't spoken a word sense the rooftops. After that... it was really all a blur.

*****

"Shit!" Blake yelled. "They got away!"

Yang shook her head. "It's for the best right now Blake."

"How the hell can you say that?!"

Yang ignored Blake and looked at her sister, who was about to pick up Weiss. "You need help?"

Ruby said nothing and just glared at  Yang.

"Okay then." Yang looked at the fire escape, where Miltia had been less than a minute ago. "We're gonna get her to the hospital fast."

"Wow, thanks Sherlock!" Ruby sarcastically replied as she picked Weiss up bridal style and ran for the stairway. Yang was about to follow her when she heard Blake groan. Quickly she ran over to her respective girlfriend and draped her arm around Blake back. Blake did the vice versa.

"Come on Blake..." Slowly the two huntresses in training made their way down to the busy streets of Vale, story by story. "You doing okay?"

"I've had better days." Blake replied. when she saw the concerned look on Yang's face she quickly changed her answer. "I'll be fine."

Yang's expression turned normal. "Okay... Blake?"

"What?"

"Why'd... why'd you leave me- us at Beacon while you tried to handle it by yourself?"

Blake sighed outward. "Yang... can we talk about this later... please?"

Yang knew she was fighting a losing battle. Blake wouldn't say anything unless she was ready. "Fine."

Once the pair finally got to the ground level, they found Ruby crazily trying to get some form of transportation.

 _Rush hour._ Yang thought in her head. _We'll never get Weiss to the hospital in time, unless..._

Yang spotted a parked taxi on the other side of the road. "I'll be right back Blake." Yang warned.

"Yang. Don't do anything stupid." Blake warned.

Yang couldn't help but grin. "Whattttt me?"

"I'm serious Yang."

"Nice to meet you serious Yang, I'm Yang." Yang kidded.

"Stop taking this like a joke!" Blake yelled, but Yang was already gone.

Yang ran through the clogged the street as horns buzzed all around her, some directed at her, others not so much. Finally, Yang made it over to the taxi. She tapped on the glass window on the passenger side three times.

Startled, the taxi driver opened the window. "Sorry lady, I'm on my lunch break."

Yang smiled politely. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind to wait for your lunch break."

"Excuse me?"

Yang cut her smile off her face. "Listen. I've got a very injured huntress, a 16 year old that wields a scythe that will do anything to keep her safe, and another huntress that has enough experience in illegal activity."

"Your point?" The man said, not buying it.

Yang cocked Ember Celica and showed the driver.

"Get the hell out of the taxi."

Meanwhile on the other side of the street, Blake paced back and forth on the sidewalk. She was begining to just realize what she has done.

_Weiss took the rocket for you. Yang stole a fucking airship for you. Ruby has brought help every single time you needed it. And what have you done for them? You've blocked them out, time and time again. They try to save me... but I just digging myself into more and more trouble. One day... they'll all going to give up on you._

_Can you really blame them?_

Blake's thoughts were cut short by the screech of tires on the street next to Ruby and herself. It was a taxi. The window rolled down.

"Yang?" Blake asked in disbelief. Why was her girlfriend driving a taxi?

"Hope in sweet stuff!" Yang said with a wink. Blake instinctively rolled her eyes.

Typical Yang.

Nonetheless, Blake opened the passanger door. Ruby jumped into the back and set Weiss down gently.

"May I inquire how you got us a taxi? I suppose the taxi driver didn't just willingly hand it over." Blake asked.

Yang shrugged. "You'd be surprised what these puppies can do." Yang gestured to her guns- _not those guns Blake!_

"Just try not to hit anything." Blake advised.

"Sure thing baby." Yang looked in her mirror at Ruby. "Buckle up back there, this could get fare-ly taxi-ing."

Blake shook her head as the cab when flying forward. Blake had to give Yang credit, she was doing a fare-ly- damnit- a quite good job avoiding traffic. Yang swerved inside and out the packed lanes, passing angry drivers.

Blake turned so she could look at Ruby. A sharp pain ran down her body as she did so, reminding her of her own injury. Blake bet the only reason she was still standing was because of the crap load of adrenaline in her body. She would more than likely pass out as soon as they got to the hospital.

"How's she holding up, Ruby?" Blake asked. Ruby only glared at her and said nothing. "Ok-ay then..." Blake turned back to face the window.

Yang was looking out her side mirror. "Uhh... guys... we may have company."

Blake looked out her own window. Yang was right. Two vans followed behind them. Through the front windows, Blake saw what was undoubtedly White Fang.

Blake looked ahead of their cab. The street was completely empty. "What the- Yang I thought this was rush hour?!"

Yang raised a concerned eyebrow. "Your point?"

"There just happens to be an empty street in the middle of rush hour?" Blake pointed out.

"Yeah... that always happens in movies and shows when there are chase scenes. I mean, they're not going to have the chase scene be a bunch of cars stuck in traffic. That's just boring." Yang said, not taking her eyes off the road.

"But we aren't in a television show!"

"Television show, web series, same stuff." Yang said.

Blake couldn't help but shout. "What?!" A cascade of bullets shot the taxi from behind.

"Listen Blake, we can debate movies flaws later. Can you deal with are friends? Ruby, make sure you and Weiss don't get shot." Yang said, swerving to avoid more shots.

Blake shook her head. "Fine. This can't be a coincidence though..."

Ruby said nothing but moved Weiss out of the reach of bullets.

Blake switched Gambol Shroud to pistol form. "Alright Blake." She told herself. "Let's shoot some a-holes."

Blake rolled down the window as a wall of bullets flew by it. Quickly, Blake leaned out the window and aimed her gun at the van.

Blake saw two members shooting from the back, each leaning out their respective windows. In the front, the driver was focused solely on driving and the passanger was loading his gun.

Blake shoot her gun twice, and planted a bullet on one of the members in the back.

One down, three to go. Suddenly bullets from the other van tore through the taxi's back. Blake pulled back into the cab.

"You okay?" Yang asked and Blake nodded. A second later Blake was out the window again. This time she knew what to do. She emptied the rest of her clip onto the van. Each of the three remaining White Fang slumped and fell.

Dead. The van skidded out with no one to control it and crashed into a building on the right. Blake winced, realizing Professor Ozpin would not be too happy if he found out about that.

Suddenly the taxi was shoved to the right. Blake quickly whipped her head to see the cause. The remaining van had crashed into them.

Blake quickly loaded her gun. "Yang, duck!" Yang didn't need any more info, quickly, the girl curled her head into the wheel. Blake shot through both windows of glass with her pistol after a few shots. She watched as the passenger's head hit the dashboard.

"Brake!" As Yang followed her girlfriends directions, the taxi, stopped and scratched the side of the van as it was passed by. Blake, now behind the van, used Gambol Shroud to to shoot both back tired out.

"Go!" Blake yelled and leaned back into the cab. Yang shot the taxi forward, and it closed in on the out of control van. Blake sighed. "We should be go-" A gunshot interrupted Blake's thought. Two gunshots to be exact.

Both from the back seat.

As Blake turned around she saw Ruby was wielding Crescent Rose in its small gun form. Then Blake looked at the van.

All three remaining White Fang were dead. Ruby had killed the two in the back with only one shot.

Perfect accuracy.

The van crashed into a streetlight on the left. Nobody said anything. Both Yang and Blake thought the same thing.

_That was quite possibly the most brutal thing Ruby had ever done._

Needless to say, there were no more interruptions that ride.

As the taxi pulled up to the hospital with bullet holes and scratches all along it, Ruby practically jumped out, carrying Weiss bridal style.

Blake and Yang quickly followed.

Following their entrance to the hospital they answered a bare minimum of questions as the clerk saw the condition Weiss was in. Before Blake knew it, the group followed along as a nurse wheeled Weiss away.

*****

"You're going to half to wait out here." The nurse told the three of them as two doctors took Weiss and began to wheel her into the room. "I promise you your friend will have the best care provided in all of Vale."

Yang politely nodded her head. "Thank you." To her right, Ruby gazed into the room, wishing she could be at Weiss's side.

"If you follow me, I'll show you to the nearest waiting room." The nurse said. After Yang agreed she practically had to drag Ruby away from Weiss.

"I will give you an update on your friends condition as soon as I can. I'm sad to say there is nothing more you can do for her now than sit and wait..." With that the nurse left the three of them alone together in the room.

Yang helped Blake sit down and she sat down next to her. Ruby sat on the other side of the room. No body spoke a word.

Blake was feeling weaker each passing minute but she didn't say anything about. The last thing she needed right now was her girlfriend smothering her. Plus, something told her Ruby was not in the greatest mood with her or Yang. Nonetheless Blake rubbed her temple as a headache began to form.

"You okay?' Yang whispered to Blake.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Blake answered and removed her hand from her head. "You think Weiss will be alright?"

Yang nodded with little hesitation. "Weiss is one of the strongest people I know. Sure she can also be grumpy at times, but if anyone can pull through this, it'll be Weiss."

Blake grabbed her wrist before she whispered back. "It's just... I feel like this is all my fault."

"Maybe that's because it is." Ruby said coldly from across the room. She stood up and walked out the room, not looking back.

"What?" Blake said, confused. "What's wrong with your sister?" Blake looked at Yang, who wore a worried face.

"I don't know..." Yang lied. "I... I better go make sure she's okay..."

"Alright..." Blake replied. Yang smiled at her and planted a kiss on her neck.

"I'll be right back." Yang said after pulling her head back. Blake watched Yang leave the room, following her sister's footstep's.

*****

Yang jogged down the hallway. If her sister was to go anywhere right now, it would probably be Weiss's side. Yang turned the corner to the next hallway.

Finally after a few minutes Yang reached the hallway Weiss's room was. Ruby was sitting outside the room, slumped against the walls.

Yang's jog slowed to a stop right in front of Ruby. "You just going to sit here all by yourself?" No reply. Yang sighed and slowly sat down along the wall next to Ruby. "Ruby... as not your teammate, but your sister, I need to know; what is wrong?"

Ruby's head snapped and delivered a long glare at Yang. "You really want to know what's wrong? Do you?"

"Yes. I need to know Rubes." Yang said.

"It's _your_ girlfriend. Can't she for once think of the team first? The team, and not her selfish goals with the White Fang and Adam." Ruby shook her head. "Yang, I joined Beacon to fight Grimm, not other people... It's just, don't you ever stop to think, we are killing them! Innocent or not, we are killing humans and Faunus. They have families Yang! For all I know every time I kill one I'm making another orphaned child! A kid who would grow up without a mother or father..." Tears started to pour from Ruby's face. "I can't deal with that Yang."

"Is this about Summer?"

"Of course it's about Summer- about Weiss, about us all! Blake charges into her own battles with no second thoughts! She doesn't care about who's lives she ruins, or who she's actually fighting against. She's just like them, Yang, but she's worse!" Ruby chuckled. "We may be doing to right thing... but the way we're doing it... it's horrible!" 

"But who else is going to fight them?" Yang asked.

"The police, _actual huntresses?_ Yang, we're still in training! We aren't able to handle this sort of thing right! Look at Weiss! She is proof that we're not ready for this!" Ruby shook her head. "But no. Blake gets to decide what we are ready for. She's going to get us killed Yang!" Ruby stared at Yang. "I... I don't see how you can love someone like that. Someone who puts her own revenge before the ones she loves. Some who is so obsessed."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Yang snapped. She could only handle so much smack being talked about her girlfriend. Regardless of what she did, Yang still loved Blake. "Blake isn't obsessed, she just wants to do the right thing! The White Fang our hurting tons of people! Blake wants to stop that... This isn't about personal gain!"

"And what about the Faunus and human lives she ruins doing so? Can you justify that Yang? The innocent ones who love the 'evil murders' in the White Fang, because maybe they love just one person who got mixed up in the wrong crowd. You do realize that when we kill them, it only makes those who don't fight against us hate us more."

"I... I..."

"There are two sides to every story Yang." Ruby said before turning her head away from her sister.

"Rubes..." Suddenly the door to Weiss's room creaked open. A different nurse stepped out. She was surprised to see Ruby and Yang sitting outside.

"Ohhh your here..." The nurse said. "You can go in now. It looks like your friend is going to be okay."

Yang gave a forced smile. Ruby stood up and the nurse walked away.

Ruby gave one last glare at Yang. "Go. Go back to your girlfriend. Just know you're not as important to her as you think you are."

Yang watched as Ruby shut thee door behind her. After that, Yang buried her head in her knees.

_Is Ruby right? Is Blake doing the right thing? Am I?_

_What's more important to Blake, me or her revenge?_

Yang found herself more worried about the last question than she had hoped.


	8. Chapter 8

Blake massaged deep into her shoulder with her fingertips. The muscle was sore. She must have landed on it wrong...

 _Let's not make this about you now Blake._ She told herself. _You've already fucked up enough._

Blake fought the tears back. She did the right thing, right? She couldn't stand by, idle, waiting for Adam to show up. She needed to take action... right?

"Knock knock." Yang's voice said, startling her. Blake looked up. Her partner stood alone with her hands on her hips in the doorway. "Anyone home?"

"Very funny." Blake said back as Yang walked down to sit next to her. "Is Ruby okay?" Blake asked, her tone changing to seriously.

"What? Oh yeah..." Yang lied. She kept her eyes glued to the ground. "It's just... she worried about losing Weiss."

"Yeah..." Blake said, only half believing her. "Is there a reason she said to me?"

"What?" Yang said, confused.

"Why did she direct it to me?" Blake asked.

Yang shrugged and continued to lie. "You were just the closest target. In the line of fire- you know."

Blake nodded... it made sense. But... "Are you sure there wasn't anything else? Any other reason she was mad with me?"

"No." Yang lied for a third time. "Nothing." Yang pulled her girlfriend close. "The nurse said Weiss is going to be okay. Everything is going to be fine."

"How can you say that?" Blake cried out. "He's still out there! And we know he's hunting us! How can anything be okay if he's still alive?!"

"I don't know..." Yang whispered. "But I have a feeling we should at least try."

"Why?!" Blake yelled. "We need to stop him!"

"Why us?" Yang asked back, still thinking about what Ruby had said.

"Why us?!" Blake repeated in disbelief. She jumped out of her chair. "Why. Us?"

"That's what I said."

"Because, they can't do what we can!" Blake answered.

"Why can't they? Why can't the trained huntsmen and huntresses go out and stop one White Fang member!" Yang shouted back, also standing up.

"Because they don't know Adam as well as I do!" Blake said. "They don't know just who they're messing with! He's not just some White Fang member."

Blake slouched into her chair.

"He's not even close."

Yang looked at her girlfriend. "What do you mean?"

Blake sighed. "Listen up... have I got a tale for you..."

*****

Ruby was kneeled at the side of Weiss's bed. She was still unconscious.

"Weiss? I'm... I'm sorry." Ruby said, tears starting to fall down her face. "If... if I was just... If only..." Her hand clenched at her side. "Why the fuck did Blake have to do it? Why couldn't she just get herself under control!? Think about more than herself for more than once! Why!?"

Ruby tucked her head into her arms.

"Why?"

*****

"Adam and I go way back. I first met him as a child. I was five and I was participating in my first rally... of course, this was back when the White Fang was peaceful."

"Of course." Yang said, nodding her head.

"A bunch of humans jumped the rally group. Racists. They didn't like us speaking up for ourselves. They attacked us with intent to kill. Most of the others got away... but... I was cornered. There were three of them. I almost didn't survive-"

"Okay I really don't want to call you out here, but you're telling me a five year old girl survived an attack from three fully grown humans?!"

"Listen and you'll find out!"

"Sorry..."

"Okay well... I almost didn't survive. Then... Adam showed up. He was about ten at the time. He slammed the first one's head against the alley wall. He fell unconscious immediately. Then the second human pulled out his gun. Adam ran at him, broke his arm, and disarmed him. Finally he shot the last one through the leg so he couldn't get up."

"Gotta give him credit, at least he wasn't a violent killer machine when he was ten."

"True... After the attack, I seemed to see more and more of Adam. A lot more. He was at every rally protest I was, every meeting he was standing within eyeshot."

"Was he stalking you?"

"No... it was as if he was... protecting me. Neither of us had any family left in the White Fang... so it was like he was my older brother. He had my back... but he didn't need me to watch him. He was enough to protect the both of us."

"Sounds like he was badass even back then."

"Yeah... but he still knew the line. He never killed... until... our first mission."

"When was this?"

"I was fourteen, two years had passed since our old leader stepped down. Adam and I, along with three others, were to blow up a decently sized dust shop. Pretty standard mission... but it took a turn for the worse. The two members who were in charge of silencing the clerk failed, and the clerk was able to set off the alarm. Adam was forced to knock the old man out. The police were on in minutes, and me and the others were still strapping charges so we could blow the building. Gunfire ripped through the building instead though, and the five of us were forced to bunker down."

"Then what?"

"Three cops busted into the shop through the main door. They killed one of our men. The rest of us took cover and tried to shoot back but none of us were really good. We all new Adam was our best bet. But... Adam continued trying to not kill them. He shot for non lethal shots to the leg and arms, hoping he wouldn't have to kill anyone. He finally shot the first cop in the leg, and he fell to the ground, screaming. Then the other two white fang members jumped out from behind his cover and charged the two cops. The first one was tripped by the first cop, who attempted to shoot him while he lie on the ground. He was then tackled by the other white fang member. The other cop quickly shoot the member who tackled his partner, and his body fell limp to the floor. Then he took aim at the last white fang member besides Adam and I. I screamed no and fired at him, but I missed and watched as he shot at the Faunus five times. Each time blood spurted out. Adam was then filled with rage... he popped out from behind his cover and shot both the cops still up. They both hit the ground. Dead."

"I... uh..."

"Adam then found me. I was crying, shaking our dead teammate. He told me we needed to leave. That we still needed to blow the charges. Silently I followed him out the building, too upset to pay attention. Then... I was shot. The first cop, who Adam had shot in the leg, lay on the ground. Weakly he lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. He hit me right in the back of the leg. I hit the ground. Adam spun around that instant and planted two bullets in the guys brain. Adam carried me outside, we blew the charges, and then he carried me back to the hideout. Weeks later, the executives heard of his 'achievement' and called him to join their ranks. But... he declined."

"What?"

"Instead, he decided to teach me how to fight, so I could protect myself. Everyday we practiced. Everyday I went to bed, bruised, battered, but stronger. By the time Adam and I were on my second mission, I could fight for myself. Adam and I seemed to drift apart after that. Our leaders made sure we were on different missions at all times. We barely ever saw each other, only in training. Even that stopped eventually. He began to change. He became more violent. Killed when there were other options. Enjoyed it."

"I don't know what to say..."

"Later, he got another invitation to the executive part of the White Fang... I don't know what changed his mind, but... he accepted. He was sent on missions that were classified to me, and he continued to grow in rank. And with that... power."

"Oh..."

"About six months before I left I caught wind of Adam joining some sort of... inner circle. The very top of the White Fang. With it, he would have supposed to have earned access to a lot of high tech equipment. The next time I saw him... he had Bush and Wilt. We talked... about the last few months. I told him I was stronger now. Might even lead a team someday soon. And then... he gave me Gambol Shroud."

"He gave you Gambol Shroud?!"

"Yeah... I always assumed it was just his final way to help me protect myself. Anyway, after that. he warned me I might not see him for a while, but not to worry. Then after that he just... vanished."

"Vanished?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Blake replied. "As if he disappeared of the face of the Earth. Four months later... I began to do some digging... I was suspicious. I came across a very important document. It had something to do with Inner Circle and the technology it possessed... it was too much."

"What was it?"

Blake shook her head. "Too many to name... Semblance enchantments, chip implants that could drive you insane... erase memory... experience your worst nightmare... simulations used to torture victims, and a hell lot of other experimental stuff too."

"The White Fang had all that stuff?"

"No. The Inner Circle... I don't know why, but the documents made it clear there was a big line between the two..."

"So what you do then?"

"...I began to think that I needed to leave the White Fang. that I would run. That I wouldn't come back... I was... disgusted at how they could use technology like that to better themselves. To torture our enemies... I thought that even the White Fang had some standards." Blake shook her head. "But I was wrong. I was still on the fence for the next two months... and then... I was sent on another mission. With Adam. We were to board and destroy a Schnee Dust Company cargo train. I hadn't thought that I would leave that day... but when I saw how Adam had changed... I had to. Adam no longer cared about the lives of innocents! I saw how he had tampered with his semblance to make it so he could control shadows... how... evil he had become. I... had no choice... I left."

*****

"Blake... I... I'm sorry for yelling at you early..." Yang said, speechless because of Blake's... speech.

"No." Blake said. "It's my fault that you began to think like that. I... I should've told you all sooner." Blake looked up at Yang. "You're right though. We need real help. We need to tell a real huntress or huntsmen about this. We're not ready for this."

"Blake... are you sure? This is pretty personal for you..."

"It's... It's fine. It's the right way to handle this." Yang nodded and pulled Blake into a hug. "I just wished... I realized this sooner. If I had... Weiss wouldn't be hurt... Ruby's right. This is my fault."

"Blake, don't think that way."

"But it's true!" Blake shouted. "If I had gotten a professional involved sooner, Weiss would be okay."

"Blake-" Yang began, but was cut off by a polite cough.

"Excuse me." The nurse standing in the doorway to the waiting room said. "I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a little bruised up yourself when you came in here."

"Huh?" Blake said. "Me- oh, it's nothing."

"Now now, don't be silly. Come with me and we can get you patched up." The nurse said.

"Well... I guess so..." Blake looked at Yang, who nodded. Blake stood up and followed the nurse to another room.

"I swear..." Yang muttered under her breath. "The amount of time's nurses have cut me off when I'm trying to make a point..."

*****

Adam hated waiting. He also really hated looking worried. It completely ruined his ego... yet, Miltia was more important than his ego. She was **always** more important.

Adam paced back and forth around the waiting room of the private hospital. It may have been designed specifically designed for members of the Inner Circle, but damn it! The wait still seemed like forever.

"Calm down. My sister will be just fine." Melaine said.

"I know... I know... It's just... Ugh!" Adam yelled, frustrated.

"Relax, hun."

"I can't believe they beat us! Four huntresses in training, beat us. How?!"

"Luck?" Melaine guessed. Adam ignored her.

"We need to have the upper hand again... something that'll weaken them immensely... A weak link..." Adam began muttering.

"Hate to break it to you, but we're one man short. Or rather, in your case, one lover short." Adam shot Melaine a glare. "Miltia will recover, but she still won't be in fighting condition anytime soon."

"Don't forget, so are they. With Miss Schnee out of the picture, that evens the sides."

"Well, we couldn't even beat them with most of the White Fang on our side." Adam glared once more at Melaine. "Oh come on, you know it's true."

"We need to use their disadvantages against them. But... what are they..."

"Uhh... Adam? You may want to hear this. Our bugs at the Vale hospital picked up on some conversations between Team RWBY. They are... rather interesting..."

"Let me see." Adam snatched Melaine's scroll. Quickly he scanned through the captions, provided thanks to the Inner Circle's team of techno-geeks. Adam smiled as a plan began to form in his head. It was just what they needed for an upper hand.

_"I've got it."_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It has been a long time since I've updated. Sorry, really sorry... Tell me what you think of the chapter in the comments. All feedback in appreciated!

Ruby's head shot back as she awoke at Weiss's side... Ruby slowly regained consciousness as she scanned the room. Weiss lay unconscious in her bed, and the dried tears on her cheeks told Ruby she must have feel asleep while crying. Ruby placed her head on Weiss's bed again. Her knees hurt from the floor, but that wasn't enough to make her leave her girlfriend's side.

*****

Blake shifted slightly away from the attention on her other side, wincing as the nurse touched the bruised area.

"Now, now." The nurse said, continuing to work. "We'll never get you stitched up if you keep moving. You managed to get yourself quite a gash on your left side. How'd you say you got it again?"

"I didn't." Blake replied. wincing as the nurse looped another stitch through.

The nurse sighed. "Okay then, how did you get it?"

"I can't tell you," Blake said emotionlessly. "Official huntress business."

"Oh..." The nurse replied, disappointed. Suddenly, her mood changed to a very businesslike manner. "Alright, let's get then finished."

*****

Yang walked over to the clerk at the front desk. "Hello, any chance you can help me?"

The nurse behind the counter nodded. "I'll try my best."

"I need access to a phone..." Yang muttered.

"Need to contact loved one's about your friend?"

"Uh... Yeah." Yang said. The nurse smiled and pointed to a wall across the waiting room.

"There is a landline over there. Take as much time as you need." Yang nodded as thanks and jogged over to the phone.

Quickly she typed the number for Beacon. On the second ring, it was picked up.

"Hello, Beacon Academy, how can I help you?" A voice spoke on the other end.

"I need to speak to Professor Ozpin. Tell it's Team RWBY."

"Okay, please wait a moment." Yang tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hello Yang," The passive headmaster's voice was heard over the phone.

"Professor Ozpin- how did you know it was me?" Yang asked, knowing she had never given Ozpin any clues to who she was.

Yang heard a chuckle over the phone. "Your face seems to be very famous at this moment Yang. You're all over the news for crashing a entire airship into a crowd of terrorists, a plane that you also hijacked." Ozpin voice turned serious. "What's going on Yang?"

Yang sighed. "I'll tell you, but you're not going to like it.

*****

"What's the plan Adam?" Melaine asked.

Adam smirked, "Easy." Adam zoomed in the camera feed. "You aware about Blake's new... relationship."

"Yeah, with the bitch that hurt Miltia."

"Yeah. Well... If we get Yang to come to us... we can assume Blake will follow."

"So?"

"So, we take what's most valuable to her."

"And what would that be?" Melaine asked.

"Rather, who would that be." Adam said. She tossed Melaine her scroll back.

Melaine looked at the picture Adam had on it. "A little girl?"

"Correction," Adam said. "Her sister."

"We are going to kidnap Ruby Rose."

*****

"And you are good to go." Blake jumped off the table as the nurse finished the stitches.

"Thank you." Blake said politely.

"You're welcome," she said. "But I do wish you would tell me how you got that cut..."

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that." Blake answered.

"Alright, alright..." The nurse said, not wanting to pester. "You may want to talk to your friends. Visiting hours close in an hour at 10:00. Which is in less than an hour." After extending her thanks, Blake left to find Yang. As she wandered the halls to find the elevator, she saw an open door in the corner of her eye. The door read Room 14D. Through the crack she saw what was, undoubtedly, Ruby Rose at Weiss's side, crying loudly.

Blake sighed. She was going to have to face Ruby's anger at some point... might as well be now. Slipping silently through the crack of the door into the room, Blake approached Ruby. Just as she was about to speak, Ruby's sobs broke onto speech.

"Why are **you** here?" Ruby yelled angrily, startling Blake. "Haven't you done enough?!"

"Ruby I know-"

"NO!" Ruby screamed as she shot to her feet, glaring at Blake. "You don't know! This is all your fault! Why couldn't you just leave us out of it?! Why couldn't you put anything before your damned revenge?!"

"That's it!" Blake yelled. "I'm tired of being yelled at! And you seem to forget the fact that I went alone, I didn't try to pull any of you into anything, and this is my fault?!"

"Yes!" Ruby said, as if it was so obvious. "Why don't you understand that?!"

"There is nothing for me to understand! I didn't even tell you where I was going, but you came!"

"Because we're a team! And teammates don't do stupid things that put their other teammates, their 'friends' in danger!"

"I still didn't make any of you come!" Blake said.

"You would have died if we didn't!" Ruby shouted. "Look at Weiss!" She motioned to Weiss. "There were four of us Blake, and look at what happened to her! Imagine if there was only you!"

"I get it- okay! But I still don't understand why your mad at me! We're all going to be fine!"

"You want to know _why_ I'm mad at you?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"Yes!"

"It's because you broke your promise Blake," Ruby said, walking to Blake. "You promised Weiss, all of us, when something else big happened, you would come to us!" Blake began walking backwards for each step Ruby took forwards. "But that's not the only reason. No. I'm not even mad at you because your stupid lone wolf bullshit caused my girlfriend to nearly die. No. I'm mad at you because your refusal to leave psycho killers to actual trained huntresses and huntsmen! Because you believe that just because you were once a member of the White Fang, no once else is more experienced to fight them. Because you hurt innocent people-"

"Innocent?!" Blake exclaimed as her back hit the wall. "They're liars, thieves, and murders!"

Ruby shook her head., unimpressed. "If I'm not mistaken, then that's exactly what Weiss said about them before... And you defended them, even to the point of unveiling your deepest secret. But no. I wasn't talking about the White Fang."

"Then who were you talking about?" Blake asked, unsure.

"The people who love them!" Ruby yelled, tears dripping from her eyes. "Every time you kill one of them, do you think you're ridding the planet of one more terrorist? Cause I sure as hell don't. All I can think of is the families they will never see again. Their children, friends, lovers." Ruby sneered. "And that brings me to my next point."

Ruby walked closer to Blake, who tried to press closer to the wall as she neared. "You don't deserve Yang."

"Excuse me?" Blake said, Ruby obviously striking a nerve.

"Yang tries constantly to get closer to you, and you just push her away, time after time! All you can think of is your revenge. Can't even think for a moment to pay attention to the one who loves you! Well let me tell you, Yang's not going to wait for you forever. At some point, between all the pointless fighting and trying to get you to pay the slightest bit of attention to her, she's going to realize you're a lost soul. You will never see past your own personal gains... and then. She'll be gone." With that, Ruby walked out the room, leaving Blake alone to let the meaning of the words she just said sink in.

*****

"Are you sure about this Yang?" Ozpin asked over the phone, surprised by Yang's willingness to let officials get involved.

"Yeah... It's for the best. We're not ready for this... We need to leave it to professionals..." Yang explained.

"Well... I suppose..." Ozpin said. "I'll contact some old students of mine... They should be able to handle Adam... It may take some time for me to reach them, but I'm sure they'll be willing to take the job. In the meantime... head back to Beacon... I want to hear Blake's story personally."

"Thank you professor," Yang said.

"I expect to see you back at Beacon tonight. I'll send a private airship to pick your team up." Ozpin said, and as Yang was about to hang up, he spoke again. "And Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a feeling you made the right choice... leaving it to professionals, that is." Ozpin hung up.

"Yeah..." Yang said, hanging up her phone. "But it wasn't really up to me."

*****

Ruby stormed down the hallway not caring where she went. Just... anywhere away from _her._ Away from _Blake._

She turned the corner into another hallway. The elevator sat at the end of the hallway.

_I could use some air._ Ruby decided, before approaching the elevator. She pressed the down button and waited.

Ruby took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down from the fight with Blake.

_**Blake.** _ The very thought of her was enough to make Ruby want to punch a hole in the wall. Ruby strained to fight this desire as her hands formed fists.

_Ding._ Ruby head shot up to the sound of the elevator door opening.

The elevator contained two hooded figures, one on each side of the elevator. Ruby was too angry to notice the look of surprise on one of their faces as she entered the elevator, or that the other was reaching for a weapon.

As the elevator door closed, Ruby reached for the lobby button. Instead, her head was slammed into the door by one of the hooded figures. Then the same figure shoved a pistol into her back.

"What the-" Ruby yelled reaching for Crescent Rose. The gun was shoved deeper into her back.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you." The figure shoving her head into the wall said. Then the other figure walked over to her and took Crescent Rose from her.

_Robbery?_ Ruby asked herself, wondering what this was all about.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I don't have any Lien on me." Ruby said, and in response, the gun jabbed into her back even deeper.

"We're not looking for any money, Miss Rose."

"Wait. How do you know my name?" Ruby asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

There was no answer, instead, the figure pressed the button to the roof.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Ruby asked.

"Shut up." The man said, pulling her by the hair away from the door, only to slam her into a wall of the elevator.

"Your working for Adam, aren't you?" Ruby asked, and another jab to her back with the gun was the answer. "What does he want?"

"You." The figure said, and the elevator stopped. It opened to the rooftop, with a night sky above them. The kidnapper nodded to the one holding Ruby to the wall. "Set the message."

"Got it." The kidnapper said, who left the elevator. Then, the other figure pulled Ruby out onto the rooftop with them. Outside the elevator, a helicopter lay.

"How'd you get a helicopter up here?!" Ruby asked. "Someone must have seen you!"

"Of course..."  The figure said as they pushed Ruby to the helicopter. "But it doesn't matter when you have people on them inside." The man chuckled at the shock on Ruby's face. "Don't be surprised. The Inner Circle has people in every part of all of Remnant. From Atlas's army to Vale's hospitals. Now get on the plane."

After climbing into the chopper, Ruby shoved into a seat. Keeping aim on Ruby, the kidnapper waited for their accomplice.

"Is the message set?" The kidnapper aiming at Ruby asked to the other as they got on the plane. After a nod, they closed the doors. While one of them went to the front, the other one walked over to Ruby.

"That will be all for now, Miss Rose." They said, before knocking her out with the butt of their pistol. Ruby hit the floor of the chopper, unconscious.

*****

"Ruby?" Yang asked as she approached the door to Weiss's room. She heard sobbing from inside the room. As she walked into the room, Yang was surprised to see Blake as the one who was crying.

Yang ran over to Blake, who was sitting with her back to the far end of the room.

"Blake?" Yang asked as she sat beside her girlfriend. "What's wrong Blake?"

Blake said nothing as she looked at Yang, tears dripping down her face. Suddenly she pulled Yang into a hug.

"Uh-I-" Yang said as she returned the gesture. "What's this about?"

"Ruby's right Yang." Blake said. "I've been... awful to you. I'm sorry... I've been so obsessed with trying to cut the last thread to my previous life... that I forgot about the ones in my new life..." Blake pushed the speechless Yang apart and looked at her with her golden eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course!" Yang said, without hesitation. Blake smiled and pulled Yang into a kiss. As the pulled apart, the tears had stopped falling from Blake's face.

"You know... I don't think I've given you the chance to kiss me as much as I should've." Blake said.

"Oh really?" Yang said smirking. "We could always make up for lost time..." After another kiss Blake spoke again.

"Not here... We have to leave soon... Closing hours end..." Blake looked at their teammate lying in her bed. "We need to find Ruby. Sorry Yang."

"It's fine." Yang said cheerily, then smirked. "But you owe me." Blake rolled her eyes.

"Fine, let's find your sister first though."

*****

"I'll head down to the lobby," Yang said. "I may have missed her on my way up. Can you check the rooftop?" Blake nodded. Yang pressed the down button on her elevator, while Blake pressed up on hers. "And Blake?"

"Yeah?" Blake answered as she turned to face her girlfriend. Suddenly she was pulled into another deep kiss. After ten seconds, they parted lips.

"That's for finally realizing what we needed to do." Yang says. "From waking up from your obsession."

_Ding._ Yang's elevator door opened. "I'll meet you in the lobby, okay?" Yang said as she stepped into her elevator. After she pressed her respective button, the elevator door closed on Blake.

_Ding._ Blake watched as her own elevator door opened, and she stepped in. As she pressed the rooftop button, the door closed.

Blake took a deep sigh. It was finally over. Now that they had decided to let real huntsmen and huntresses take care of Adam and the Inner Circle, she could finally focus on school, as well as trying to fix her relationships with her teammates. Either way, Blake was happy to have the stress off her back.

As the elevator stopped and the door opened to the rooftop, Blake quickly scanned the roof and saw no life forms. Then, Blake went to press the button to the lobby, but stopped. Something about the rooftop... seemed off... out of place...

_But what?_ Blake asked herself as she walked onto the rooftop. Her Faunus inherited night vision saw no people anywhere on the rooftop... but-

"There." Blake whispered. On the left wall of the elevator, an item were placed. Blake walked toward the wall.

_It couldn't be..._ Blake thought as she neared the item. The large item sorta looked like... _oh no_. She began to jog to it. _No... no... No!_

As Blake stood in front of the wall, there was no doubt to what it was. Blake picked the larger item up.

"It's Crescent Rose." Blake said, surprised to see the item without its owner. "Ruby never goes anywhere without it..."

Blake saw there was something taped to the weapon. It was a piece of paper, that had writing on it.

> **_We have your sister._ **
> 
> **_You and Blake come alone._ **
> 
> **_Or else she dies._ **


	10. Chapter 10

Yang watched as Blake ran toward herself, crossing the entire lobby.

"Hey, I can't find Ruby anywhere, how about you-" Yang began.

"We have to go. Now." Blake commanded.

"What? But we have to find Ruby-"

"Now." Blake growled. "I explain when we get out of here."

"But what-"

"Yang, trust me." Blake said, and Yang sighed defeated.

As Yang followed Blake out the front doors, she waved to the nurse behind the front desk. As the door closed behind her, Blake began running for their 'borrowed' taxi.

"What's going on?" Yang asked, jogging after Blake.

Blake swallowed. "Ruby has been kidnapped."

"What!?" Yang shouted in disbelief.

"Someone working in the hospital must have been working against us. They knew exactly where Ruby was and even had a way to get her off the roof." Blake explained. "It must have been Adam."

Yang was even more confused. "How do you know all this!?" She yelled. The taxi was just a few yards away.

Blake pulled a one of a kind highly customizable sniper rifle/scythe from where she had concealed it on her back.

"Crescent Rose!" Yang stammered in disbelief. Yang grabbed the weapon from Blake's open hand. Ruby would never part with her most prized possession.

"There was also a note attached to it." Blake explained as she opened the passenger door to the taxi. Yang opened the driver door a second later, and then jumped into the taxi. "It says; we have your sister. You and Blake come alone. Or else she dies. There's also an address posted on the back."

"What is it?" Yang said as she attempted to turn the taxi on. She placed Crescent Rose on the dashboard.

"361 North Street... that... seems really familiar..." Blake thought out loud.

Yang continued to try to turn the taxi on. "It should."

Blake looked at Yang oddly. "Why?"

"Last year." Yang said. "Remember where Adam ambushed us?"

"There?!" Blake asked.

"Yep."

"Coincidence?"

Yang shook her head. "I think not."

Blake sighed. "Seems like we're gonna end this in the same place it begun."

Yang nodded. "Seems so." She said frustrated with how their car engine refused to turn on.

"How long do you think the ride will take us?" Blake asked.

"Fifteen minutes. Though we'll be lucky if I can turn this thing on. This things pretty torn up." After another aggravating three attempts, Yang punched the car's steering wheel.

"I'll go see if anything's wrong with the engine." Blake volunteered. When she didn't get any other reply than a grunt from Yang, Blake jumped out of the car and approached its hood. As she pulled the hood up, she immediately saw the problem.

"Yang, we're not going anywhere with this thing." Blake told her. Yang jumped out of the car with Crescent Rose in her hand.

"Why's that?" Yang asked as she walked over to Blake and the engine. "Oh."

Inside the hood, it looked like someone literally took a sledge hammer to the parts.

"Sabotage..." Blake muttered. "They're trying to make us take as much time as we can, so they can further prepare for our arrival."

Yang cursed under her breath. "I'm gonna get a taxi. Like, a not stolen one." Blake nodded in agreement.

*****

It was surprisingly easy to find a taxi at ten o'clock at night in Vale. Yang was able to flag one down in seconds.

Now, Blake and Yang sat in the back of a taxi, separated from the driver by a sheet of soundproof glass, heading to 361 North Street, in silence.

Now that they were heading toward a battle with Adam and his teammates as two huntresses in training, they were beginning to have doubts.

 _We can't do this._ Was the one thought that filled both team members of RWBY's minds. Both looked at the other with a reassuring smile.

_We need backup. But... if we call for it, then... Ruby dies._

Yang didn't know what to do. By charging in head first as they were doing, they were risking both of their lives. But... if they didn't go... or contacted authorities... Ruby died...

_I... I can't let her die. I would rather die myself than see her die, knowing I could do something about it. But... Blake doesn't need to do this. She doesn't need to risk her life like this._

_I don't want her to die either._

"You don't have to go. I don't want you to get hurt because of this." Yang said, breaking the veil of silence in the back of the taxi.

"Yang, I'm going. Ruby's my teammate. And your sister. I'm not letting anyone you love die. Not when this really is my fault." Blake answered, pulling herself close to Yang

"But Blake-"

"No. Yang, I'm going. And that's final."

Yang sighed. "At least promise me you won't get hurt. Please."

Blake smiled and cuddled into Yang's side. "I promise Yang."

Minutes passed after that, and Yang and Blake returned to silence... but it was different. It was a comfortable silence, rather than an awkward one.

Then, the taxi driver slid open the glass to speak to the two.

"We're almost at our destination. About 3 more minutes and we'll be there."

Blake nodded at the driver and the slide was shut. Blake looked up at her partner next to her.

"I love you Yang." Blake said, before burrowing herself into Yang's side even more.

Yang chuckled and planted a kiss on Blake's forehead. "I love you too kitty cat."

A few seconds later and Blake spoke again. "I'm scared Yang." Yang raised an eyebrow to question her girlfriend. "It's just... now that I know that I have to face Adam and the White Fang... I scared that I can't beat them. That I'll lose... I can't lose Yang.... I can't... or else... I'll lose all my new friendships... I'll lose my only chance to stop Adam... I'll lose my life... but mostly, I'm afraid because I'll lose you... _*sniff*_ Now that I'm no longer blinded by my obsession, I see how much I mean to you, how much you mean to me... I can't lose that Yang." Yang felt Blake sobbing against her leather jacket. Yang patted Blake's shoulder.

"Don't worry. Don't worry. It's all going to be fine. You promised, remember? It will all be fine... and Blake, I'm scared too. You're not alone there. I afraid of losing you, the love of my life, of losing my sister, of not being able to beat Adam. But at the end of the day, we'll be fine. Okay?"

Blake nodded her head, not moving from Yang's side. Slowly, her tears began to stop. As they did such, so did the taxi.

The glass window slid open again.

"We're here." The driver proclaimed. "That will be 14 Lien."

Yang pushed Blake and herself into an upright sitting position.

Yang quickly threw a wad of Lien through the open glass slide. "Keep the change." Then she opened her door a climbed out of the taxi. Blake was soon to follow her, and the duo found themselves standing on the sidewalk in front of the same building they were atop only about a half a year ago.

Behind them, the taxi drove away, leaving Yang and Blake alone in the downtown streets of Vale.  


"Where to now?" Asked Blake, who unsheathed Gambol Shroud off her back.  


Yang smirked and looked up. She placed Crescent Rose on her belt.  


Then she cocked Ember Celica.  


"Where else? The roof."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so this chapter may have been a bit on the short side, but yeah! Next chapter is fighting! Woohoo! That's probably going to take a while to right, but expect the next chapter to be the last. Bye for now!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Easily my longest chapter ever. You would not believe the hours spent working on this. (They're a lot.)  
> P.S. I didn't get a chance to look over this chapter, so if there are any inconsistencies or mistakes, tell me in the comments. Also, as usual, reviews and feedback are appreciated.

As Yang and Blake trudged up the fire escape to the roof, they were completely on guard, aware and completely awake. Yang hid her fear of what she was afraid that she would find when they reached the rooftop. No point in bringing it up and making Blake nervous too.

The silence was the worst part.

Yang had expected more... action. Not that she minded, (for once in her life) it was just that it was so unnerving. Yang had no idea what to expect when she reached the top... maybe Adam was alone, with  only Ruby as hostage, or maybe the entire Inner Circle Blake had talked about was up there, waiting to ambush them as soon as they were in the open.

But one thing was for sure. As Blake and Yang scaled the last set of steel stairs, leading to the roof, they were both scared.

*****

Blake and Yang careful walked onto the rooftop, weapons drawn. Then, across the rooftop, Yang saw...

Nothing.

The roof was fucking empty.

"No!" Yang yelled. Her arms wavered slightly. "No no no." Yang swung her head around scanning every inch of the roof. "Come out, Adam damn it! I want my sister back! Stop hiding you fucking prick!"

Blake, in sharp contrast to her partner said nothing, instead choosing to examine the rooftop more thoroughly. Blake slowly walked forward, one hand on her sheath and another on her pistol.

It was empty. Yang was right about that... But why? Adam wanted them to come here, why give them an address if he wasn't going to bother to show up.

Blake felt a cold chill in her gut. She felt like someone was... watching her...

Blake knew better than to distrust her gut. It had saved her more than once back when she was part of the White Fang. However, she also knew better than to just randomly run in any direction. Blake scanned the roof again, as Yang screamed in the background. This time, however, the large vent to the side of the roof caught her attention. It was the perfect place for someone to hide behind. Slowly, Blake stealthily walked toward it, ready for an attack at any moment.

Blake pressed up against the side of the vent, slowly, she walked around the corner of the large structure without a sound. Then she stopped.

 _If there is anyone behind this vent,_ Blake reasoned, _I can get the jump on them._ Blake jumped away from the cover of the vent and struck where she suspected Adam might've been.

Instead, Gambol Shroud's sheath struck the solid metal of the vent, cutting through the vent. Blake sighed. Not here.

Casually, Blake attempted to pull the sheath out of the vent, without any success. Then she tried again, harder this time. Gambol Shroud's sheath still didn't budge an inch,

 _Great Blake. Not only did you manage to look like a complete idiot, but you got your weapon stuck in the process._ Blake scolded herself. Blake then changed her position to get a better grip on her weapon, moving her head closer to the vent and placing her left hand on the machine for support, while she pulled with her right. Or she would've pulled with her right, if she hadn't been distracted by the green light inside the vent. Blake abandoned the sheath to instead investigate the odd light.

Thanks to her night vision, she was able to see inside the vent quite easily. There was a quiet beeping noise inside the vent, and the green light belonged to a device that looked a lot like-

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Bad. This was bad.

Very bad.

Blake quickly pulled Gambol Shroud's sheath blade out of the vent with a newfound sense of panic and fear. It came out on the first try this time. However, Blake began running away from the vent as soon as it did.

"Yang! Run!" Blake screamed at the confused Yang, who followed Blake's command without a single beat of hesitation.

She had also learned to trust Blake over the last year. So instead of being stupid and asking why, Yang instead opted to ask, "Where to?!"

Blake quickly scanned the roof... Blake heard the beeping noise, followed by another, and another, and more still, and it was getting faster. The entire roof was armed.

The beeping began to speed up even more so, and as did Blake's running.

"We have to jump!" Blake yelled answering Yang's question. "Off the roof and onto another! The roof is armed with explosives!"

Yang understood and began to run with all her might. She watched as Blake, who was a few feet in front of her, jumped first, crossing the large gap to the next rooftop. Yang took two more steps then did the same thing.

She landed next to Blake, who was busy looking to see if Adam was on this rooftop.

"Get down!" Yang yelled, as she herself hit the deck, and she grabbed Blake along with her.

Then the bombs went off.

**_5 minutes ago..._ **

"Are the bombs armed?" Adam asked Melanie, who just rolled her eyes.

"For the _thousandth_ time, yes!" Melanie answered. Her heart was racing. "You really think the bombs will work?"

"No." Adam answered truthfully. "It would make our work a lot easier, but I doubt either of them will fall for that. Plus the bombs main purpose is to throw them off. After that, we jump them. They should be thrown off enough that we'll have the advantage, but we can't get too cocky. We have to stick to the plan." Adam gave Melanie a death glare. _"Got it?"_

Melanie sighed. "Fine. Though I do wish you would let me be the one to take care of the blonde one. Make her regret what she did to Miltia."

"No." Adam stated. "You're my backup. You're going to help me finish off Blake."

Melanie smirked. "Can't kill one huntress-in-training without backup Adam? Only if Miltia saw you now..."

"Shut up. We both know that Blake isn't just some huntress-in-training. We need to stick to the plan, got it? _Got it?"_

Melanie sighed. "All business with you, isn't it?" Adam continued to glare at Melanie. "Oh fine. Make sure your henchmen save the bitch for me though."

"Whatever." Adam said. "Just get into position now, and do not let Blake see you until I get her alone, alright?" Melanie nodded unenthusiastically. "Good."

"Let's end thus, shall we?"

_**Present Time...** _

The bombs went off for ten full seconds. Yang didn't let Blake out herself get up for another ten after that.

The explosives completely destroyed the roof of the building they were armed to. Some of the smaller pieces of rubble had launched over to the roof of the building Blake and Yang were on now. On the old building, fire was plentiful among the destroyed roof.  The parts of the roof that didn't explode were left to crumble down to the floor below them.

As Blake stood up along with Yang, she noticed all these things.

And... They made her so... Angry.

The bombs may have been placed to kill Yang and herself, but what if civilians had been in that building. Did Adam bit stop for a moment to think about them?

_He isn't the Adam you used to know Blake. Now he's a heartless fucking bastard._

_And he needs to pay._

Blake looked over the entire rooftop. Adam wasn't here either.

"Where are you!?" Yang screamed. "Fuck you Adam! Where is my sister!? Give her back!"

"I'm afraid that won't be happening anytime soon, Miss Xiao Long." A voice spoke from behind her. Yang and Blake whipped their heads around to face the owner of the voice. "Or ever, in fact." The owner of the voice seemed to materialize from the shadows in front of them.

"Adam." Blake spat the name from her lips. In an instant she had Gambol Shroud, which was already in pistol form, trained on Adam. Except it wasn't Adam.

It was Ruby's unconscious body.

No.

"I'm afraid your in no position to shoot me." Adam said from behind Ruby's body, which he was using as protection of sorts. His rifle, Blush, was aimed right back at Blake. "Quite the opposite, in fact."

He was right. Blake thought to herself. She would never- could never shoot Gambol Shroud at him now. Not in fear of shooting Ruby instead.

Blake shivered. Adam knew her all too well.

"Give me back my sister Adam." Yang said through her clenched teeth. Out of the corner of her eyes, Blake looked at Yang. Her partner's eyes were a blood red, and she looked ready to kill Adam. Scratch that. If Adam didn't give Ruby back now, Blake was sure Yang would kill him.

"I belive we both know that will not happen, Yang." Adam said, referring to Yang by her first name.

Yang clenched her hands into fists, molding Ember Celica into such as well. Still, she held herself back.

"Well it's about time I was leaving girls." Adam said, inching back with Ruby still held in front of him. Adam pointed Blush behind him to his right, then moved it back to face Blake and Yang. "You sister and I have a helicopter to catch back to  HQ. Don't worry Yang," Adam said cockily. "But will be a welcome addition to the Inner Circle, after we wipe er memory, of course."

Yang growled and her eyes turned a bright white. She was this close to taking Ember Celica and-

Calm down Yang. Play it smart. Remember the simulations. This is the same thing... Except if you die this time around, it's permanent... And instead of Blake it's Ruby.

Keep focus Yang. Keep focused. 

"Goodbye ladies." Adam smirked. "And please, give my graces to Ice Queen as well." Then, in a fraction of a second, Blush's aim was moved from Blake to Yang, and the rifle was shot. The bullet pierced into Yang's left leg, where it stopped inside. Then Adam was gone, disappeared into the shadows with Ruby.

"Ahh!" Yang screamed, and feel to the ground, blood spilled everywhere. "Son of a-"

"Yang, are you okay!?" Blake screamed. Yang grunted.

"I'm- I'm fine." Yang pushed her back to her feet. Miraculously, she was able to do so. "Where- Where is he?"

Blake used her night vision to search the rooftops close to them. "There." Blake said, pointing to where she spotted Adam running along the rooftops with Ruby slung over his shoulder.

"We have to stop him." Yang said, as she began to awkwardly jog to where Blake pointed.

"Well- fine, let's go." Blake agreed, slinging an arm over Yang's shoulder to support her. Blake decided not to mention Yang's injury.

Before they had crossed half of the first roof, the two of them were ambushed.

Two hooded figures sprung from the roof's fire escape, standing directly in Yang and Blake's way. The first one brandished dual pistols. The other drew a single dark blue, double-sided war hammer with a gold colored handle.

The former of the two shot their pistols at the duo, two bullets out of each gun. Yang and Blake jumped apart from each, Yang going right and Blake jumping left. As Yang attempted to dodge the bullets. Her injury caused her to awkwardly land on her knee. She slammed her right down to support her.

"Blake." Yang said, turning to face her partner. "Go after Adam... I'll hold them." The hooded figure reloaded their gun, not making any movements.

"You sure?" Blake asked, turning to face Yang. In an instant, the hooded figure shot twice more at Blake. The cat Faunus narrowly dodged the attack.

Yang nodded. "Save Ruby. Besides I'm only slowing you down."

"Got it." Blake said, then charged the two hooded figures. She swung Gambol Shroud three times against the one holding the pistols. _Knee, waist, shoulder._

The attacker stumbled back after taking the first swipe, causing the other two to miss. Instead of chasing after the fumbling attacker though, Blake kept running to the end of the rooftop, to where she had last seen Adam. She cleared the gap but paused at the other end, making sure Yang was okay.

Yang was standing up once again, in a fighting position. Her eyes were the same blood red as before, and while evidence of her injury was obvious, the brawler seemed to be ignoring it.

"And Blake?" Yang shouted, not taking her eyes off her opponents. "Be careful, okay."

Blake smiled. "You got it," Was all she said before she turned to catch up to Adam.

*****

Yang sighed as she saw Blake turn and leave. It was up to her now.

The figure with the hammer finally moved, charging toward Yang with no concern for their own safety. Yang tensed, up waiting to spring. Finally as the attacker begun to swing down the large hammer down in an arc, Yang sprung backwards, landing a safe distance away from the attack. The hammer met solid cement, cracking the roof. Before Yang could return her own attack, the other figure shot at her, forcing Yang to move farther back. Again, as Yang regained her balance, the first attacker, the one with the hammer, launched toward Yang. This time the hammer was swung from Yang's right to left, knocking her toward the middle of the roof.

Yang stood this time once again, and nearly fell to the ground as she did so. When she was finally steady, she turned her head up, revealing her red eyes for all to see. Again, the man with the hammer charged toward her.

Instead of attempting to dodge like before, Yang stood her ground. As the hammer came down on her once again, Yang's left arm shot up with amazing force and speed and her hand grabbed the hammer's handle, stopping it's momentum. Yang stood there and just stared at the panicked expression on the figure's face. Then, Yang moved in a flurry of speed.

She pivoted on her left foot and elbowed her attacker with her right arm. Next Yang released her grip on their hammer only to kick the legs of the figure out from underneath him. Instead of falling to the ground, the figure stumbled backwards clumsily. So Yang used Ember Celica on her right hand and pummeled the attacker down. The victim of her punch hit the ground with such speed and intensity that Yang knew they wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon, much less fighting Yang. Yang turned her head up to find the other figure, and she realized that she was now open for an attack.

Unfortunately, Yang's attacker must've realized the same, because before Yang could move, her right arm was shot twice.

"Agh!!!" Yang screamed in rage as she struggled to stand upright against the blows. Then she ran directly at the attacker, hoping to be able to take them out then and there.

The figure frantically began to reload their guns, and when Yang was only steps away from him, he realized that his attempts were fruitless. He dropped both his guns and sidestepped to his left, avoiding Yang's attack.

Yang was forced to stop herself from running off the edge of the roof and when she had, she turned to face her opponent once again. The figure smiled as he drew something from his side.

 _Oh come on._ Yang thought as she watched the dark blue machete obviously infused with dust become unsheathed from the attacker's side.

*****

 _Where was he?!_ Blake knew Adam had quite a lead, but now this was ridiculous. The helicopter hadn't left yet because Blake was **sure** she would be able to hear something like that.

 _What if the helicopter was a lie?_ Blake realized. _What if there was no helicopter, and Adam had already loaded Ruby into a car of sorts and drove off?_

_I can't stop now. There has to be a helicopter._

Blake didn't stop running as she jumped the next gap, and she landed on the rooftop running.  She kept running, refusing to give into her tired muscles.

There. On a rooftop just a block away, and two stories taller than the roof Blake was currently on, sat a black helicopter. Blake began to speed up.

_Your not getting away this time Adam._

*****

The hooded figure was a lot better with a machete than Yang expected. He was quick, able to dodge all of Yang attacks, while managing to get small hits every once in a while.

Yang had to admit she was beginning to feel drained. If this went on much longer, she wasn't sure she would be able to hold up.

 _I need to finish this._ Yang decided. Quickly she reloaded Ember Celica with another round of bullets. Then she charged her opponent.

Yang swung three times, missing each as the figure weaved inside and out of her punches. Yang clenched her teeth as she felt the machete rake across her back for a big hit.

Yang collapsed to the ground. When she tried to push herself up this time, she fell back to the ground.

Even Yang Xiao Long didn't have enough in her to take a rifle shot to the leg, two bullets to her arm, a machete cut across her back, and many more minor injuries.

_I have to..._

_for Ruby._

At the thought of her sister, Yang pushed even harder. finally she got to her feet, but she was barely standing.

Her eyes glowed a hot-white.

_For Ruby._

*****

When Blake finally reached her destination, she held Gambol Shroud in a fighting position, ready for a challenge. However, there was nothing. No Adam. No White Fang members. Nothing except for a helicopter, and-

_Ruby._

Team RWBY's leader lay carelessly thrown in the back of the helicopter. Like bait.

Blake knew better than to just run blind to her teammate's aid. It was obvious just to have her let her guard down.

Slowly Blake walked to the helicopter, very cautiously. She remained silent, listening for any sign of movement.

There was nothing. Blake almost sighed, but she hadn't expected any in the first place. Adam's stealth was almost impossible to detect.

Blake turned her back to the helicopter, scanning where she had came from. The roof was still empty.

_Where was he?_

The cocking of a rifle right behind her answered her question.

*****

Yang didn't move from where she stood. Instead she unloaded bullet after bullet at the figure, deciding that her last, less tactical attacks were not getting the results she wanted. Unfortunately for Yang, The figure seemed to have no problem dodging.

Yang tensed on her feet, the man was getting closer. There was no where for her to run. A few steps backwards and she'd fall off the roof. Each time she shot a bullet toward him he stepped away from it and toward Yang. Yang got ready to hold her position.

Finally when the figure was close enough, he sprung at Yang with his machete. Yang had no choice but to block the slash with Ember Celica.

As the machete slashed down the right gauntlet of Ember Celica, it seemed to slice it right in half, completely ignoring the steel and even cutting the back of Yang's wrist.

Time seemed to slow down as Ember Celica feel from Yang's wrist and as the cold sound of steel hitting stone filled Yang's ears, she knew it was all over. Instead of choosing to hit Yang once again with the machete, he kicked her right in the gut. Yang recoiled back, falling off the roof. At the last possible moment, her left hand, the one that the still intact gauntlet remained on, caught the edge of the roof.

So there she was. One hand holding on, too tired and worn down to pull herself up. One enemy striding toward where she remained, knowing he had won.

*****

 _"Adam."_ Blake said with a sigh.

"Always one step ahead of you, I'm afraid." Adam said, and Blake could tell even without looking that he was smirking. Smiling. Gloating.

_He always smiles when he thinks he's won._

"What do you want from me?" Blake asked, not daring to move, because she knew Adam wouldn't think twice about blowing her brains out.

"What do I want?" Adam asked. "I want you, I want your partner, and want your friend all _dead_. But, alas, you hold a special priority over those two."

"There must be something you want, otherwise, why am I still alive?" Blake said, knowing she was walking on a very small figurative tight-rope.

Adam laughed. _Laughed._ "You're right Blake! I do want something! I want to see you in your final moments, knowing for sure that you lost. That there was no hope for you. Call it gloating or being a sore-winner, I want you to know that you have finally been beat." Adam paused. "Is that a good enough answer for you?"

"It's perfect." Blake said, forming a plan in her head. "But... you are forgetting one tiny, small detail."

"...And what is that, Blake?" Adam asked spitefully, but cautious.

Blake mentally prepared herself with a deep breath. She had to make this extremely convincing. "So you've took care of me, and occupied my partner, as well as knocked my leader unconscious. But Adam... you are aware there are **four** members of Team RWBY, right?" Blake said, attempting to imply that Weiss was here, rather than asleep in the hospital.

Then, for the slightest time after Blake's statement, Adam hesitated. While it wasn't for very long, quite the opposite enough, Blake knew it was there. Adam was probably remembering the last time he had held Blake at gunpoint and had counted out the rest of her team. And while it was a short hesitation, it was all Blake needed.

Blake spun around as she kicked high into the air, where she expected Blush to be. Her guess was correct, and as her foot made contact with the rifle, it went flying toward the edge of the rooftop. As Adam began to react, he brought Wilt across his body to cut at Blake. Instead the sword was met with Blake's shadow clone.

Adam growled. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ He scolded himself.  _I_ _knew Weiss was in the hospital! Why did I believe her lie, even if for a second!_

Blake smirked at Adam's angered expression. "One on one Adam, just how you like it, right?"

After another growl from Adam, both Faunus charged toward one another.

*****

The figure stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down on Yang. A smirk covered his face. Slowly, without taking his eyes off Yang, he spun the machete around in his hand so he could stab Yang's hand. As he did so, he took a knee by Yang's hand.

Yang hung on to the edge of the roof by her left hand, her right arm too hurt to do much even if it was holding on. Her left arm was too tired to pull Yang up on its own. So there Yang remained. Watching at a painstaking pace as her enemy savored his moment of victory, taking as much time as he wanted before stabbing Yang's hand and letting her fall to her death.

 _If only I still had my right gauntlet._ Yang thought. _Then I could shoot that smug look off his face. But no. If only she had some type of gun-_

 ** _Idiot!_ ** Yang's mind yelled at herself. Slowly, without attracting any unnecessary attention, she moved her right hand behind her back. Luckily, the figure was at such an angle that he couldn't see her back. It wouldn't have mattered much if he did, he was probably positive he had beaten Yang. Yang's hand inched across her belt until it met the cold steel of Crescent Rose. Slowly, her hand wrapped around the sheathed form of her sister's weapon. One well placed shot was all she needed.

Yang turned her attention back to the figure. He was now on one knee and still had that smug-ass look on his face.

Then he pulled back the machete, and was about to bring the blade down on Yang's hand as Yang pulled Crescent Rose from her back and in one swift moment pointed the gun at her enemy.

Before he could react, Yang shot at him. Then his body went limp and fell over the edge of the roof.

*****

Adam brought Wilt down on Blake, only to be countered by Gambol Shroud's sheath. Blake spun off the attack, turning to the right and swung upwards with her katana. Adam jumped back and Blake stepped forward. Blake attacked in a flurry of swings, alternating between sheath and katana. As each blade was swung, Adam was forced to move further and further back, until his heel was met with the edge of the roof. As Blake swung Gambol Shroud once again, Adam had no choice but to block with Wilt. Before Blake could swing her sheath, Adam used his semblance to disappear.

As Adam disappeared, Blake turned her katana to pistol from and scanned the roof. While she had yet to see Adam, the helicopter did block her view of about one fourth of the roof.

Blake took a deep breath and remained silent. She waited for Adam to reappear. Say what you will about him, but Adam was not one to give up easily.

After what felt like a hour of waiting, Blake heard something behind her. Close.

Quickly Blake rolled forward, and she could tell she only just avoided a sword to the back by the sound the sliced through the quiet of the night. Blake then used the forward movement of her roll to launch herself into a standing position. Blake then faced Adam as just barely had enough time to counter his next attack with her sheath. As Wilt crashed on the sheath with amazing force, Adam was knock backed. It was now Blake's turn, once again, to be on the offense.

Blake charged at Adam once again. As she ran, she aimed her pistol and shot. Adam expertly dodged her attacks, moving further and further back. When Blake was close enough to Adam and was about to lunge, Adam sliced Wilt sideways. Blake barely had enough time to create a shadow clone to absorb the hit.

Adam didn't let up there though. As Blake's clone was destroyed, Adam lunged toward the real one. Blake was forced to jump to the left to avoid Adam's lunge. Then, she aimed down her pistol at Adam. Or where Adam should've been.

Gone. Again.

 _This is getting no where! Adam will outlast me by a longshot! I need to finish this!_ Blake told herself.

Without taking her eyes off the roof, Blake unloaded the clip from her pistol. She then replaced the empty ammo clip with a dust infused one, which she had started carrying ever since last summer.

_Alright Adam. Let's do this._

Blake waited a moment and then Adam appeared, right in the middle of the roof. Smiling.

Blake aimed her pistol at her ex-partner, but didn't shoot. Why wasn't Adam doing anything?

"Melanie, I believe it's safe to come out now." Adam spoke. Blake's hopes sunk. Of course Adam would bring backup. Blake was barely holding her own against him, never mind with the addition of a second enemy. However, Blake didn't take her aim off of Adam. A moment passed. Nothing happened. Adam's smile began to disappear.

"Melanie." Adam growled.

No answer.

Adam was all alone.

*****

Yang's arms were getting really tired. It wasn't enough that she couldn't rest, no, she had to dangle off the edge of a tall-ass roof, hanging by one overused arm and one that was damaged and useless.

_Guess I just gotta wait for Blake to come back._

_She'll... come back.... right?_

_But seriously, It would be way too lame and pathetic to survive all that and then die because my arms were too tired._

_Way too lame._

*****

Blake couldn't help but smirk as the confidence on Adam's face disappeared.

"What's wrong Adam, nobody left to save your ass?"

Adam held back another growl in his throat. "I don't need anyone to save me."

"Is that so?" Blake asked.

"Yeah." Adam said, not moving from his spot. "But I wouldn't say the same about you." Adam added, and then charged back at Blake.

Adam brought Wilt upwards on Blake. Quickly, Blake used her semblance. She used the ice dust in her weapon to power her clone.

Just like on the train last year, Adam's weapon was stuck in the clone. Adam, unlike Roman, had no trouble pulling it out, as he punched the ice clone and it shattered.

Quickly, Adam continued his charge to Blake. Blake saw the look of pure hatred on her ex-partner's face, and Blake knew he was letting his emotions control him. Finally Adam was close enough to attack. This time, as Adam swung sideways with his sword, she formed a flame clone. As Adam sword came in contact with the figure, it exploded, and Adam launched backwards.

Wilt was launched out of his hands, and Blake watched as the weapon slid right off the roof.

Adam lie on his back in the middle of the roof, completely unarmed. Blake slowly walked over to him. Adam looked too dazed by the blow to use his semblance.

"Well, well, well." Blake said. "Maybe someone did need backup after all."

Adam groaned and attempted to get up, but Blake placed one foot on top of him, completely denying him.

As Blake looked down at her ex-partner this close, and saw him completely open to attack, Blake could feel her hate coursing through her. Hate not just for Adam, but for the people who made her old friend into this. And while it may not have been all Adam's fault, this wasn't Adam. Or, at least, the old Adam.

The good Adam. Her friend. The one that never killed, not lived for it. No.

That Adam died a long time ago.

Now Blake was fully intent in killing the lesser of the two.

Blake placed her sheath back on her back and aimed her pistol at Adam's left shoulder. **"This is for tricking my partner."** She said and shot Gambol Shroud. Adam winced in pain but said nothing. Then she moved the pistol to aim at his other shoulder. **"This is for taking my leader."** Another bullet was shot from Gambol Shroud. Her aim moved to Adam's left leg. **"This is for shooting my partner."** Bam. Blake moved her aim to the other leg. **"This is for shooting my partner again, because she also happened to be my girlfriend."** Blake shot again. She took aim at the left part of Adam's hip. **"This is for putting my teammate in the hospital."** Another shot went. Gambol Shroud was moved to the right part of the hip. **"This is for making me waste months trying to find you."** A sixth shot ran through the air. Finally Gambol Shroud was pointed at Adam's chest. Blake waited a moment, just to make sure he was in pain.

 **"And this?"** Blake asked Adam, who was obviously in no such condition to respond.

**"This is for being an asshole."**

The last shot rung throughout the air. Blake stepped off Adam's body.

_It's done. I'm finally done._

Blake nearly collapsed on the roof as she realized how tired she was, but she reminded herself that Yang was waiting for her. Blake walked toward the helicopter and carefully picked up Ruby.

"Time to go home." Blake whispered.

*****

Yang was relieved when the hand finally reached over the edge to help her up.

"It is about time, Blake." Yang joked as she reached for the hand. As she was pulled up, her smile was wiped off her face.

It wasn't Blake.

Melanie smiled wickedly at Yang. Yang noticed her other gauntlet of Melanie's right hand.

"This is for Miltia."

Yang gulped.

_Fuck me._

*****

Blake carried Ruby back to the rooftop Yang was on at a jogging pace, since it was impossible to go any faster with a 16 year old girl slung over your shoulder. As the rooftop neared her sight, Blake noticed a figure dressed in a red skirt.

_No..._

Blake sped up and ran to the roof. As she ran, she pulled Gambol Shroud out of the sheath on her back as changed the weapon to pistol form.

Blake watched as Melanie outstretched a hand to Yang, and pulled the girl up.

_No._

Blake noticed the yellow item on Melanie's hand as she got closer. An item that was without a doubt Ember Celica. Blake was at her top speed now, even with Ruby on her back.

"NO!" Blake screamed as Melanie used Ember Celica to finish Yang off. After the gauntlet shot Yang, Blake's girlfriend let go of Melanie's hand. And plummeted off the roof.

Melanie turned to see who had yelled only to have Blake unload three bullets into her. The girl dropped to the ground. Dead.

"Yang!" Blake screamed.  She ran over to the edge and peered over.

Yang wasn't there, holding on to the edge. She wasn't stuck on a conveniently placed fire escape.

She wasn't there. Yang was gone.

Blake fell to her knees.

 _After all of this..._ Blake thought as she began to tear up. _After three encounters with Adam, after Weiss's injury, after Ruby's kidnapping... when it's finally all over..._

"I'm sorry Yang..." Blake whispered. More anger surged through Blake's body.

"Why take her!?" Blake screamed on the rooftop.

_She didn't deserve this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me for that ending... I'm sorry...
> 
> (There will be one last fanfiction in this series. While it's main theme will be coping with the loss, don't think I don't have more plot twists up my sleeve.)
> 
> (Because I do.)


End file.
